TVA Cyber Defenders Stand Out at Cyber Shield 2026

Second place at Cyber Shield 2026? Not bad for a day’s work.

TVA’s cybersecurity team partnered with the Tennessee National Guard’s 175th Cyber Protection Team and recently participated in Cyber Shield 2026, the largest unclassified cyber defense exercises in the United States. More than a thousand participants from 23 countries came together to practice responding to real‑world cyber threats.

TVA’s team placed second out of 40 defender teams in this fast‑paced challenge, which tested both offensive and defensive cybersecurity skills in a realistic, hands‑on setting.

The TVA team—Paul Trachian, Brian Shepherd, Elijah Peterson and Kaitlyn Carroll—spent the week working through high‑pressure scenarios based on attacks against critical infrastructure. Beyond the main exercise, participants also took part in a warm‑up Capture the Flag (CTF) event hosted by the the SysAdmin, Audit, Network, Security (SANS) Institute. In this timed competition teams worked inside a simulated utility environment that had already been compromised by a sophisticated threat actor. Working side‑by‑side, they hunted for signs of malicious activity, isolated compromised systems, generated leads, and shared findings in real time, mirroring the coordination and rapid decision‑making required during a real incident.

Elijah Peterson, a cybersecurity analyst, said the event felt similar to real incident response work. Jumping into an unfamiliar network with new tools was "pretty overwhelming at first,” he said. “But once I got my bearings, I could really dig into the threat hunting.” He and the team watched small clues come together into a full attack chain, and then worked together to combat it.

Kaitlyn Carroll, also a cybersecurity analyst, said it was an honor to represent TVA. “Cyber Shield is really technical and moves fast,” she said. Tracking a simulated attacker in real time was "definitely a challenge, but our team adapted quickly.” At one point she stepped into an Incident Commander role, she said, which gave her "a great chance to practice leading under pressure.”

Exercises like Cyber Shield help TVA sharpen skills, improve coordination, and stay ready to protect the power supply for nearly 10 million people across the Tennessee Valley. With a second place finish and new lessons learned, TVA’s cybersecurity team continues to strengthen the organization’s mission to provide safe, reliable energy.

TVA’s cybersecurity crew teamed up with the Tennessee National Guard to participate in Cyber Shield 2026, the largest unclassified cyber defense exercises in the United States. The team finished second of 40.