Nato is to set up a fast response centre to fight
cyberattacks on members' critical national infrastructure and Nato
bodies.
The Cyber Defence Management Authority (CDMA) will be based in
Brussels and start operations before the end of the year, a Nato
spokesman said.
This follows the ratification of a Nato cyberdefence policy by
heads of state at the
Nato summit in Bucharest today. The policy was prompted by the
coordinated attack on Estonia, a Nato member, in April and May
2007.
Implementation of the policy is already under way. A
cyberdefence
centre of excellence in Tallin, Estonia, has already been
established.
Parts of Nato's present cyberattack alert and response
capability will be merged and combined with national and private
sector elements in the new CDMA, the spokesman said.
The CDMA will co-ordinate responses to attacks if invited by
national cyberdefence authorities. It will also develop and propose
standards and procedures for national and Nato cyberdefence
organisations to prevent, detect and deter attacks.
The spokesman said, "The keynote is defence, whether an attack
comes from state, criminal or other sources."
The Estonia centre of excellence will research and develop
counters to cyberattacks, and provide training to cyberdefence
staff.
The spokesman said the details of implementation are still being
worked out, but the intention was to be open as possible to
non-member national and private sector bodies.