NATO, European Union experts review cyber defence cooperation

“Over the last years NATO and the EU have intensified their engagement on cyber. We exchange real-time information between incident response teams, participate in each other’s exercises, and work on training and research” said Dr. Antonio Missiroli, NATO’s Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges.

The officials discussed efforts to enhance the security of next generation networks and initiatives to promote cyber stability between states. They also addressed ways to prevent, deter and respond to malicious cyber activities.

“The EU welcomes the overall progress we have achieved on the implementation of the common actions in cyber security and defence. We have to keep the tempo, while further deepening our cooperation in the framework of the two Joint Declarations. Coordination on cyber security and defense is at the heart of this strategic partnership”, said Pawel Herczynski, Managing Director for Common Security and Defence Policy and Crisis Response at the European External Action Service.

Sharing strategic interests and facing the same challenges, NATO and the EU cooperate on issues of common interest. Cyber defence continues to be an area for increased engagement between NATO and the EU. A Technical Arrangement on Cyber Defence was concluded between the NATO Computer Incident Response Capability (NCIRC) and the Computer Emergency Response Team for the EU Institutions, bodies and agencies (CERT-EU), providing a framework for exchanging information and sharing best practices between emergency response teams.