Cyber Coalition 2011 exercise tests NATO procedures for cyber defence

December 16, 2011 defpro.com

NATO conducted from 13 to 15 December a cyber defence exercise in order to test technical and operational Alliance cyber defence capabilities. The exercise called Cyber Coalition 2011 was an opportunity to test Alliance working procedures for responding to large scale cyber attacks targeting information infra-structures of NATO and individual countries.

The exercise was based on a fictitious crisis in which all participant nations had to deal with simulated cyber attacks. The scenario of the exercise required action, coordination and collaboration from cyber defence specialists and management bodies.

A total of 23 NATO and six partner nations nations were involved in the exercise.

“I am delighted to see so many participants joining us for NATO’s major annual cyber coalition exercise”, Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges, Ambassador Gabor Iklody said. “The number of players and observers is growing every year. This demonstrates the high importance that Allies and partners attach to achieving better protection against rapidly increasing cyber threats and also confirms NATO’s recognition as a key player in cyber defence”.

Around 100 specialists took part in the exercise from locations in the Alliance’s SHAPE Headquarters in Mons and the NATO Headquarters in Brussels. A similar number of national experts participated from national cyber defence facilities in their respective countries.

“Effective cyber defence requires us to continually test and improve our crisis management and decision-making procedures. This exercise was a great opportunity to promote the practical implementation of NATO’s new Cyber Defence Policy adopted last June”, Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges, Ambassador Gabor Iklody said.

The exercise also offered an opportunity to check technical and operational responsibilities and to look into the needs for collaboration between NATO and partner nations. The European Union participated in the exercise with an observer role.