Ashton B. Carter, US Secretary of Defense, announced enhanced American cooperation with the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence today.
“We must prepare NATO and our Allies for cyber challenges, particularly from Russia. That’s why I visited NATO’s Cooperative Cyber Defense Center of Excellence, and I’m pleased to announce a new American initiative to bolster the Center’s role in leading our partners towards improved cyber defense,” Secretary Carter said in Tallinn today. He explained that the Department of Defense will work with the Center of Excellence in three main areas: development of cyber defense strategies, critical infrastructure protection planning, and cyber defense posture assessments.
Secretary Carter was briefed about the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence and developments in cyber security during his visit to Estonia.
The Tallinn-based NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence is a NATO-accredited knowledge hub focused on interdisciplinary applied research and development as well as consultations, trainings and exercises in the field of cyber security. The Centre’s mission is to enhance capability, cooperation and information-sharing between NATO, Allies and partners in cyber defence. The Centre is staffed and financed by sponsoring nations and contributing participants.
Membership of the Centre is open to all Allies. The United States joined NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in 2011. Currently, the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, the United Kingdom and the USA have signed on as sponsoring nations. The accession process for Greece and Turkey is being finalised. Austria has become a contributing participant and Finland is well on its way to doing the same.