By Spc. Brooke Kentler, 382nd Public Affairs Detachment

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Participants at Cyber Shield 2026 gain a deeper understanding of the intelligence that drives modern cyber defense during instructional sessions held at the Professional Education Center. As the nation’s largest unclassified cyber defense exercise continues, instructors are teaching military personnel and partner organizations with the knowledge needed to identify, analyze, and respond to evolving cyber threats that target critical infrastructure.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jason Scribner, an instructor with the 302nd Cyber Protection Company, led students through the relationship between intelligence gathering and cyber operations. Rather than focusing solely on technology, Scribner emphasized that understanding an adversary’s methods is the foundation of effective cyber defense.

“Cyber can’t really operate without some type of intelligence,” Scribner said.

Throughout the lesson, Scribner explained how cyber professionals analyze information gathered from real-world cyber incidents to understand how malicious actors infiltrate networks. By identifying attack methods, affected systems, and indicators of compromization, cyber teams can create intelligence products that are shared across organizations to strengthen defenses as a collective.

“We build an intelligence package and we distribute it to everybody,” Scribner said. “We detected that this country does this. This is how they get in, this is how they spread, and this is what we do to fix it.”

Those intelligence packages provide analysts with the information needed to develop detection rules, automate alerts, and improve incident response. Instead of relying solely on manual investigation, cyber teams can use intelligence gathered from previous attacks to recognize threats earlier and respond more efficiently. The process demonstrates how lessons learned from one cyber incident can help protect countless other networks from similar attacks.

As Cyber Shield brings together National Guard personnel and international partners, the exercise provides participants with practical experience that mirrors the nature of real-world cyber operations. By combining technical expertise with intelligence analysis, students gain a broader understanding of how cyber defense extends beyond computers alone.

Scribner said his goal is for participants to leave the course with a greater appreciation for the role intelligence plays throughout every stage of cyber operations.

“A broader understanding of intelligence,” Scribner said. “It’s more than just a gathering. There’s a lot of requirements behind it, and it is a very important part of cyber.”

Cyber Shield 2026 continues through July 25, providing participants with opportunities to strengthen cyber readiness and improve the collective defense of critical infrastructure through realistic training scenarios and collaboration among military, government, and international partners.