Finnish authorities prepare for societal disruption with TIETO24 exercise involving Swedish observers

Finnish authorities and companies are currently engaged in preparations for a major societal disruption through a readiness exercise named TIETO24. This year, Swedish officials are participating as observers and sharing insights about their operational methods.

Antti Nyqvist, the head of the exercise, described it as a role-playing scenario where businesses act as miniature societies. “In simple terms, it’s a role-playing game where the business sector represents fictional companies, while authorities like the police, the Defense Forces, and the Cybersecurity Center portray their real selves. Everyone needs to collaborate and consider how to facilitate information exchange,” Nyqvist explained.

He emphasized that the exercise does not simulate wartime conditions but instead focuses on disruptions during normalcy caused by hybrid influences, cyberattacks, and denial-of-service attacks.

Rooted in the Defense Forces’ telecommunication exercises of the 1970s, this exercise expanded to include the business sector, now involving 170 companies out of 184 participating organizations. Nyqvist stated that companies providing services to society from sectors such as ICT, security, and media are invited to join.

This year’s thematic sector is energy, particularly its reliance on imports. Nyqvist elaborated: “We are examining energy production and its dependencies, looking at how connections and goods are generated in the event of disruptions in energy production, and the resulting societal implications.”

Launched in 2018, the exercise has been coordinated by the Finnish Security and Development Centre. Additionally, Yle serves as a reliable news media outlet during the exercise, providing updates based on fictional scenarios, helping organizations form a comprehensive situational understanding.

To introduce information flow, each participant gathers data from subcontractors and various authorities before assessing and passing that information along, contemplating how to manage the chain of information effectively. For instance, an electricity company’s disruption can impact all businesses dependent on its power supply.