International collaboration is a strategic goal almost unequivocally valued and pursued by all nations in their national cyber security strategies(NCSS). Regardless of that, the sometimes overly general notion of collaboration might end up being more of a buzzword than a clearly formulated and measurable goal. NATO CCD COE´s latest research paper aimed to study what lies behind the general notion and map comparatively, which concrete lines of actions are foreseen in the NCSS- s of the NATO Allies, for this the following areas were looked into:
- Law and norm creation
- Combating cyber crime
- Harmonised standards for information security
- Critical information infrastructure protection
- Preventive military cooperation
- CERT cooperation
As a result it became evident that while for instance the need for international engagement in combating cyber crime is acknowledged almost universally and in a sufficient level of detail and clarity, the international dimension of critical (information) infrastructure protection and crisis management is frequently dismissed. Based on their conclusions, the authors also share recommendations for policy-makers on how to address the critically important strategic objective more precisely.