Erik A. Hooks, secretary of the North Carolina Department

Erik A. Hooks, secretary of the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, discusses cyber operations with North Carolina National Guard (NCNG) and North Carolina State Government cyber experts during Cyber Shield 2020 held at the NCNG’s Fort Fisher Training Center, Kure Beach, North Carolina, Sept. 24, 2020. Cyber Shield 2020 is a virtual national exercise where NCNG participants join their National Guard peers across the country, testing their response to real world cyber threats to government and private industry networks and information technology infrastructure. NCNG Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Todd Hunt, seated next to the flags, also met with the participants (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Robert Jordan, North Carolina National Guard Public Affairs)