Tabletop Exercise Development Kits

Maritime Incident Preparedness and Response 

Discussion-Based Exercise Development Kits for Active Shooter and Cyber Attacks

The Maritime Security Center (MSC), in conjunction with the Stephenson Disaster Management Institute (SDMI) at Louisiana State University, has developed tabletop exercise resources to enhance the core capabilities and preparedness of port facilities and port operators to an array of hazards, including natural and man-made threats. It is the MSC’s intent to extend these resources to the broad spectrum of port partners that comprise the maritime community, including public and private, local, state and Federal organizations. 

Prior to the development of the center's tabletop exercise content, staff from MSC and SDMI met with key stakeholders from the U.S. Coast Guard Sector's New York and New Orleans, to discuss a range of scenarios that were critical to the ports.  Through these dialogues, the two areas of concern that were most commonly identified involved active shooter, with emphasis placed on an event taking place at a cruise terminal, and cyber-based intrusions for nefarious purposes. As part of the process of developing content, scenarios and exercises design resources, MSC and SDMI worked directly with officials from the Port of New York/New Jersey, Port of New Orleans, and the Area Maritime Security Committees for Sector New York and the Gulf of Mexico to develop the active shooter and cyber-based exercises.

Active Shooter Exercise Development Kits

With the intent to provide the exercise design team with a full range of active shooter based scenarios this exercise design series consists of four different aspects of an active shooter scenario. The four modules are based on the following potential scenarios: (please click on the respective links to review and download the exercise materials.)

Cybersecurity Exercise Development Kit

Based on the reach and complexity of a potential cyber attack throughout the entire maritime sector, the Cybersecurity exercise development kit is designed to allow an exercise support team to integrate hypothetical cyber attacks on key systems that are commonly found in port facilities. The intent is to allow the team to introduce a variety of cyber-based injects to meet specific requirements and introduce attacks on multiple facilities or attacks throughout the entire port system. By developing injects for critical systems, the design team has the flexibility to create a wide variety of cyber attacks based on the goals and objectives of the exercise. In addition, the multiple injects allow for a wide array of sophistication tailored to the skill levels of the exercise participants.  

Program Contacts: