Security Strategy, Plan, Budget

NATO to spend €70 million on ‘cyber-refresh’

More than a thousand industry representatives and NATO officials are expected to attend the NATO Information Assurance and Cyber Defence Symposium (NIAS) in Mons, Belgium, on 7, 8 September 2016, to learn about the Alliance's future cyber-requirements. After hearing about NATO's vision for its future cyber-defences, invitations for bids are expected to be released in 2017, and the first round of investments completed in 2018

At the Summit in Warsaw (8, 9 July 2016), Allies committed to continue implementing NATO's Enhanced Policy on Cyber Defence and to strengthen NATO's cyber defence capabilities utilising the latest technologies. In July, NATO announced business opportunities in cyber, air and missile defence as well as advanced software, worth €3 billion (£2.5 billion). This includes plans to invest around €70 million (£60 million) in a cyber-technology refresh. The Alliance has identified specific areas where it will seek Industry contribution, including secure mobility, multi-level authentication and the secure use of public clouds.

NCI Agency general manager, MGEN (rtd) Koen Gijsbers commented: “With 28, soon to be 29 NATO member countries, it is essential that we are all able to work together, accessing information quickly and securely from any location.

“The use of cloud computing enables this and has a profound impact on operations – fewer servers, fewer generators, greater speed. The same applies to giving soldiers more information on smaller, more mobile devices which they can carry with them anywhere.

“Of course, politically-sensitive intelligence cannot be shared on a public cloud, but routine business can be greatly facilitated by cloud technology. We also need to be able to trust that the person logging in is who they say they are, so we rely on multilevel authentication.”

NIAS 2016 will focus on four specific themes: Building resilience from inside; Moving from Information Assurance to Mission Assurance; Next generation cyber-security challenges and solutions; and Securely enabling the mobile user.

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