Tallinn, Stenbock House, 26 June 2018 – today, Prime Minister Jüri Ratas was acquainted with the work of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE), which celebrated its 10th anniversary this May.
“The NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in Tallinn is confirming that Estonia is a country that contributes equally to digital innovation and cybersecurity,” said Ratas.
“Our experience and proposals, in particular, were some of the arguments that inspired the alliance to tackle cybersecurity more seriously. Now, our allies no longer doubt how important it is to protect our common values and way of life in the digital world, as well. The current work of the CCDCOE with its knowledge, training, and information exchange plays an important role in this,” he added.
Ratas was very impressed by the international cyber exercise Locked Shields that took place in April. The most large-scale exercise of its kind, featuring over 1,000 experts from dozens of countries, has become one of the calling cards of the CCDCOE.
Merle Maigre, Director of the CCDCOE, Lieutenant Colonel Franz Lantenhammer, Chief of Staff of CCDCOE, and the staff of the centre talked with the prime minister about the studies carried out there, for example in the field of artificial intelligence and cyber forensics, as well as about the ongoing training and the future plans of the centre. The largest projects in addition to Locked Shields and the cyber exercise Crossed Swords are the annual high-level conference Cycon and the most thorough handbook on the international law applicable to cyber operations, “Tallinn Manual 2.0”. There are also plans to develop a handbook for cyber commanders. Jüri Ratas and Merle Maigre agreed that the centre has great potential for carrying out training in cyber defence and practising international cooperation.
The CCDCOE currently has 21 member states, of which 18 are members of NATO. Negotiations are ongoing with seven allies and three partner states.
Photos: Jürgen Randma / Government Communication Unit:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/9opgpqx9id9ofcp/AAC8Q47C39RNM888yoZjL0x9a?dl=0
