The Commander of the Joint Cyberspace Command heads the Spanish delegation at the NATO Cyber Defense Conference held in Albania

• Promoting decisive and proactive cyber defence and strengthening NATO's role as a platform for imposing costs on malicious cyber actors were central themes of the meeting

The Spanish delegation at the NATO Cyber Defence Conference was led by Vice Admiral Javier Roca, Commander of the Joint Cyber Command (MCCE). He participated in several panels and in a TTX exercise (Tabletop Exercise) simulating a very serious cyberattack on a country in the alliance.

In his opening speech, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte emphasised that cyber defence is a vital component of the Alliance's collective security, and that no country can face the challenges of today's digital age alone. ‘Every day, state and non-state actors operate in cyberspace against us, seeking to undermine our defences, damage critical infrastructure, spy on our societies and disrupt government services.’

The Prime Minister of Albania stated in his speech that cybersecurity has become one of the most important challenges of the modern era, a cornerstone of national sovereignty, shared responsibility and democratic stability. ‘Today, we face a cyberattack every three minutes, but we successfully repel them all. Albania has built one of the strongest cyber defence walls among NATO countries,’

Promoting more decisive and proactive cyber defence, including through closer cooperation between the public and private sectors, and strengthening NATO's role as a platform for imposing costs on malicious cyber actors have been central themes of the two days of discussions.

In response to the rapidly evolving and ever-growing cyber threat, NATO and its Allies are taking new steps to operationalise cyberspace as a domain of operations, including through the establishment of the ‘NATO Integrated Cyber Defence Centre’. The Centre brings together civilian and military cyber defenders, including industry, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to improve situational awareness and enhance collective resilience against cyber threats. You cannot defend against what you cannot detect.

The 3rd NATO Cyber Defence Conference was held in Tirana, bringing together senior political, military and industry representatives from 32 allied and partner nations to discuss strengthening collective resilience and cooperation in cyberspace.