Cyber Dawg 2026: Georgia's Premier Live-Fire Cybersecurity Exercise

Event Overview

Cyber Dawg is a joint initiative between GTA's Office of Information Security (OIS) and the Georgia Department of Defense (DoD) that brings cybersecurity professionals from state and local government, military organizations, and partner organizations together to participate in a high-pressure, hands-on environment. This event combines technical training and live-fire cyber defense exercises to inform effective strategies that can be applied immediately within your operational environment and enhance skills such as:

• Incident detection and analysis
• Threat hunting and investigation
• Log analysis and alert validation
• Cyber threat intelligence sharing
• Team-based incident response
• Decision-making under pressure

What to Expect

Participants will spend the week immersed in realistic cyber defense simulations and collaborate with peers to successfully:

• Defend simulated networks against active cyber threats
• Monitor systems, investigate alerts, and respond to incidents
• Conduct threat hunting and forensic analysis activities
• Collaborate with teammates and partner organizations
• Participate in intelligence sharing and operational briefings

The event uses a complex sandbox environment with access to real-world internet traffic, including captured IP blocks from U.S. adversaries, such as Iran, China, Russia, North Korea, providing a real-world cyber threat landscape.

Who Participates?

Event participants include:

• State and Local Government - More than 20 state agencies and select, invitation-only participation from county and local agencies
• Military - Army, Air National Guard, and active-duty military units
• International - Cybersecurity professionals from allied countries
• Private sector - Select cybersecurity professionals and industry experts provide mentorship and technical support

A Look Back at Cyber Dawg 2025

Last year’s exercise brought together a record number of participants from government, military, and partner organizations across Georgia. Teams successfully defended simulated agency environments while enhancing collaboration and incident response capabilities statewide.

Explore Last Year's Event