Four countries—Ukraine, Ireland, Japan, and Iceland—have joined the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE) as members, as announced on the center’s 15th anniversary. With these additions, the CCDCOE now boasts a total of 39 members, including non-NATO countries.
The director of the CCDCOE, Mart Noorma, expressed gratitude and emphasized the importance of like-minded nations collaborating to address cyber attacks through research, training, and exercises.
Based in Tallinn, Estonia, the CCDCOE serves as a hub for conducting cyber defense research, training, and exercises. It focuses on various areas such as technology, strategy, operations, and law. Recently, the center organized the Locked Shields cyber defense exercise, with representatives from 38 countries participating.
The exercise involved Red Teams competing against Blue Teams, with the latter responsible for defending a nation’s information systems and critical infrastructure from large-scale attacks.
The decision to expand the CCDCOE’s membership comes as NATO members face increasing threats from state-sponsored threat groups. Governments recognize the constant risk of hackers launching disruptive or destructive attacks on critical infrastructure.
By fostering increased cooperation among member nations, the CCDCOE aims to strengthen cyber defense capabilities and enhance collective resilience against evolving cyber threats.
