Allies practise coordination of mutual cyber support through NATO
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From 7 to 11 April, representatives from 20 Allied government and national agencies exercised NATO’s ability to coordinate responses to significant malicious cyber activities affecting critical national infrastructures.
The exercise, organized by Czechia, aimed to ensure that NATO’s Virtual Cyber Incident Support Capability (VCISC) mechanism can operate swiftly and smoothly. Launched at the 2023 Vilnius Summit, this capability works as a clearing house for Allied assistance in the event of a cyber-attack. Through the VCISC, NATO facilitates assistance, linking those requesting support with designated counterparts in other Allied countries, and helping coordinate offers of support such as malware analysis, cyber threat intelligence and digital forensics. The aim is to help Allies mitigate the impact of and recover from significant malicious activities. The initiative is led by Allies on a voluntary basis, using national assets.
Malicious cyber activities have been increasing over time, targeting amongst others; critical infrastructure, industrial control systems and government services - to disrupt societies, steal intelligence or impede military activities. Russia’s full invasion of Ukraine in 2022 highlighted the extent to which cyber is now a part of modern conflict, both before and alongside kinetic hostilities.