Sweden will send an expert to the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence this year. Swedish minister of defence Peter Hultqvist reaffirmed the commitment during his visit to the think tank and training facility in Tallinn today.
”Given the relevance of cyber defense as well as the need for a comprehensive approach to meet these modern challenges, I would like to emphasize the increasing importance of the work of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense Centre of Excellence,” said Peter Hultqvist, the Swedish minister of defence. “I am delighted that Sweden will share the experience and ability to further develop our cyber capability together with the other members of the Center.”
“We are looking forward to Sweden becoming a contributing participant and welcoming a new colleague to the Centre. The speed of staffing highlights the Swedish commitment to cooperative cyber defence,” says Sven Sakkov, director of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence.
“Sweden has shown global leadership in cyber defence. As in other aspects of life, we are stronger together,” highlighted Sakkov noting that membership of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence will give Sweden full access to the centres offerings, including trainings and exercises. In particular, Swedish cyber defenders will be able to participate at Locked Shields 2017, the largest and most advanced technical cyber defence exercise in the world.
Sweden decided to join the Tallinn-based NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence last summer as a contributing participant and is about to send an expert to the centre.
The NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (NATO CCD COE) is a NATO-accredited knowledge hub, think-tank and training facility. The international military organisation focuses on interdisciplinary applied research and development, as well as consultations, trainings and exercises in the field of cyber security. The heart of the Centre is a diverse group of international experts, including legal scholars, policy and strategy experts as well as technology researchers with military, government and industry backgrounds. Membership of the Centre is open to all Allies. Currently, the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States have signed on as Sponsoring Nations of the Centre. Austria and Finland have become Contributing Participants – the status available for non-NATO nations.