Palmerston North soldier hones cyber skills and tactics in Philippines exercise

Exercise Balikatan, which means “shoulder to shoulder” in Tagalog, is an annual bilateral US-Philippine exercise involving air, land, sea, space and cyber operations. This year’s iteration also involves Australia, France, Japan and for the first time Canada and New Zealand.

Lance Corporal Donovan is operating as a host analyst in a tight-knit cyber team and working closely with the military partners. A host analyst looks for signs and indicators of a malicious cyber actor.

“One of the biggest highlights has been working alongside my teammates from the United States Navy and the Philippine Navy. It has been awesome learning about their roles, their countries, and swapping stories from service,” he said. 

The cyber component has involved simulated cyberattacks, defensive operations and the need to track and expose threats in a cyber range – a purpose-built closed network for cyber operations. Scenarios are designed to reflect real-world operations and the frequency and pace of attacks. 

“We have been defending a simulated and virtualised network against simulated threats,” Lance Corporal Donovan said. 

“Each team has a different network, which really tests how well we communicate and manage issues across the command chain within the cyber environment.”

Lance Corporal Donovan, 24, joined the New Zealand Army in 2020 and found it offered him a chance to do what he already enjoyed.

“I grew up really interested in computers, building PCs, figuring out how systems work, and gaming in my spare time. 

“My uncle, who was serving at the time, encouraged me to look at the Army, specifically as an Information Systems Operator.

“It stood out as a chance to get proper training in computers while working hands-on with technology every day, which lined up well with what I already enjoyed doing.”

Lance Corporal Donovan has completed a plethora of qualifications and continues to upskill.

He has completed Cisco Certified Network Associate Level 1 and Level 2 certifications, along with a year of study at University College of Learning, working toward a Bachelor of Information and Communication Technology.

Since joining the NZ Army cyber team, he has gained several industry recognised certifications including OSDA (OffSec Defense Analyst), and INE certifications such as eCIR (Certified Incident Responder), eCTHP (Certified Threat Hunting Professional), and eEDA (Enterprise Defense Administrator).

Lance Corporal Donovan is continuing to build on his qualification with SANS (Sysadmin, Audit, Network and Security) courses.

“A lot of our time is spent studying for courses, preparing and running lessons for the team so we can keep learning from each other, and getting ready for exercises by sharpening our skills and toolsets,” he said. 

“During exercises, things step up a notch. We are usually on the tools for seven to nine hours a day, building hunt plans, researching activity, and chasing down anything that looks suspicious.

“No two exercises are the same, especially when we are working alongside partner nations, which keeps things challenging and interesting.”

Lance Corporal Donovan encouraged people interested in the cyber field to consider the NZ Army.

“Cyber in the NZ Army is an exciting and fast-growing space and being involved at the ground level puts you in a great position to receive world-class training at no cost, work alongside some of the best in the field, and take part in challenging and engaging exercises with partners from around the world.”