CONNECT meets Maria Edblom Tauson, Senior Security Officer for SUNET in Sweden to talk about CLAW, the Crisis Management workshop for the GÉANT community. Maria is the Crisis Management sub-task leader for the Security Work Package 8 within the GN5-1 GÉANT Project.
Recently we announced that CLAW will take place twice this year, the first event will take place online on 2 May 2023 and the second will happen in person at PSNC in Poznan on 5-6 December 2023.
Maria, what is your background and why are you interested in crisis management?
I have been working in the NREN CSIRT community for many years and have been progressively witnessing the growth of this community’s maturity levels in this area. But I have also been experiencing how threats towards R&E organisations are getting more and more advanced and sophisticated. We are the target of actors who have access to an incredible amount of resources and we must be prepared and ready to take action immediately. And anybody involved must know what to do, must know their role and be familiar with their tasks. We have a great deal of documentation and processes, but in order to be efficient during an incident we must practise and get trained. We must know our plans, processes and roles by heart – there is no time for hesitation when a large and serious incident hits your organisation. And we must also know how we, as individuals, will react when we are faced with a stressful situation.
What excites you more about CLAW?
It’s such a great opportunity and place to get together with colleagues from other NRENs who have different skills, experience and knowledge. We host engaging workshops on different related topics, take part in stimulating discussions and learn from each other’s experience. And of course, personal networking is also so important. You never know when you will need to contact another organisation about an intriguing matter, and besides, meeting people builds trust. A crisis always involves unforeseen elements and circumstances and CLAW is a safe place to test your skills on how to deal with unknown situations.
What’s in store for the participants of CLAW online?
CLAW online will be a compressed online version of CLAW 2022. The exercise will be exactly like the latest CLAW and will start with a basic introduction to crisis management. It’s a great opportunity to get a taste of CLAW and of crisis management exercises.
What would you say to encourage colleagues from the NREN community to join this CLAW event?
You are very welcome to join us! This is a place to learn, share and challenge yourself. We hope you will leave CLAW online full of energy and ideas on how to develop your own organisation’s plans in this area.
For further information about CLAW online and to register read our announcement.
