By 2028, NATO’s new Integrated Cyber Defence Center will be fully operational across multiple locations, enhancing the alliance’s ability to address escalating cyber threats.
This was confirmed by Stefano Piermarocchi, the head of NATO’s cyber risk management portfolio, in a recent interview with Breaking Defense. He explained that the new center will streamline cyber defense processes to keep pace with emerging threats.
“The idea of the center is to facilitate the dialogue with the industry, and to be sure that we’re able to speed up certain processes, to increase our ability to communicate … or to have a really more concrete dialogue with nations,” he noted.
While the center will have multiple locations, its headquarters will be in Mons, Belgium.
It will also hire personnel from NATO’s 32 member nations to provide 24/7 threat monitoring and response.
Combining NATO’s Cyber Elements
NATO currently operates several entities focused on cyber defense, including the Cyber Security Center, the Cyber Operations Center, and the Cyber Threat Analysis Branch.
The new Integrated Cyber Defence Center will combine the resources and capabilities of these entities, fostering greater cohesion in cyber operations.
“Putting all those elements together instead of having them dispersed all over the alliance will really improve the situation and the cohesion of information sharing,” said Brig. Gen. Sam Raeves, NATO’s assistant chief of staff of J6 Cyberspace.
Additionally, the center will provide a central location for cyber specialists from NATO member nations to collaborate during a cyberattack.
“That’s a major, major building block in getting us working together more closely and supporting each other in this colocation place,” NATO Chief Information Officer Manfred Boudreaux-Dehmer stated.