Military Committee visit the Comprehensive Crisis and Operations Management Centre (CCOMC) and NATO’s Computer Incident Response Capability (NCIRC) Technical Centre

In the morning, the NATO Military Committee led by the Chair General Petr Pavel, received an overview of how the NCI Agency ensures cyber resilience through a holistic approach, including a demonstration of NATO’s Rapid Reaction Teams and a tour of the NCIRC Technical Centre. In the afternoon, the Military Committee visited the CCOMC, where the Military Representatives received briefings and a tour of the facilities. The Comprehensive Crisis and Operations Management Centre is the organization in SHAPE for all thinking, planning and acting strategically and comprehensively across multiple crises and operations simultaneously.

Cyber-attacks are becoming more intense, complex and are increasing in their level of sophistication. An attack can range from the misappropriation of someone’s official social media accounts to loss of life from degraded command and control. “Cyber defence is an important part of NATO’s broader deterrence and defence and so will continue to be integrated into all operational planning and Alliance operations and missions”, said General Pavel.

 “The NCI Agency defends NATO’s networks 24/7 in an era where the entire globe is connected through cyberspace. In order to keep NATO’s technological edge, innovation in cyber security and agile procurement of cyber defences is key in the evolving security landscape,” said Koen Gijsbers, General Manager of the NCI Agency.

After receiving a short briefing by the SHAPE Chief of Staff General Freers, seeing first hand CCOMC’s facilities and meeting key staff, the Military Committee participated in a short panel discussion where work on current issues stemming from the decisions taken at the Warsaw Summit was examined in greater detail. The CCOMC’s work contributes to an understanding of the full breadth of the crisis spectrum; identifying crisis and assessing their impact on the Alliance’s security and other crises while strategically directing ongoing NATO operations in order to deliver comprehensive outcomes.

Concluding the visit, General Pavel took the opportunity to meet with Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) General Scaparrotti to discuss the advice which will be provided to the Military Committee and North Atlantic Council ahead of the Defence Minister’s meeting which will be held 26 - 27 October 2016.