The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency completed Cyber Storm X, a four-day national exercise that brought together 2,000 participants from more than 200 public- and private-sector organizations. CISA said the tenth exercise in the 20-year Cyber Storm program tested how government and industry would coordinate during a large cyber incident affecting essential services.
The 2026 scenario centered on a nation-state adversary targeting transportation systems, including rail and ports, alongside the water and wastewater sector. Participants used the exercise to test incident-response plans, information-sharing arrangements and cross-sector coordination without exposing operational systems to a live attack.
CISA said it will work with the participating organizations to identify lessons and produce a public after-action report. The exercise is intended to expose gaps in plans and decision-making before a real event forces agencies, infrastructure operators and suppliers to coordinate under pressure.
Why it matters
Cyber resilience depends on more than defensive products. Large exercises test whether technical teams, executives, regulators and emergency partners can share reliable information and make coordinated decisions while transportation and water services are under stress.
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