Cyber Defense To Be On NATO Critical Capabilities List

Cyber defense is set to be on a top 10 list of capabilities to be agreed at the upcoming NATO summit in Lisbon, a NATO official said Nov. 16.

The list, which will be made public, sets out areas that NATO countries will prioritize for investment. The list is also expected to include helicopter transport, strategic air transport, wide body aircraft for long-range transport, counter-IED technologies and training, and medical support. NATO already has a cyber defense capability in the form of its Computer Response Incidence Center (CIRC), manned on a 24 hours/seven days a week basis, which helped Estonia when it suffered a series of Internet attacks a few years ago. The official said that NATO was "increasingly worried by the growing number and sophistication of cyber attacks on military and civilian infrastructure," adding that NATO deals with "about five major cyber incidents per day."