The Joint Cyberspace Command addresses the role of cyber operations in the geopolitical sphere at RootedCon

•  The commander of the Joint Cyberspace Command, Vice Admiral Javier Roca, took part in the panel discussion “Cybercrime, geopolitics and National Defence”

The commander of the Joint Cyberspace Command (MCCE), Vice Admiral Javier Roca, took part in the panel discussion “Cybercrime, geopolitics and National Defence” during the cybersecurity event RootedCon, held at the Kinépolis (Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid)

The vice admiral shared the panel with Javier Candau, Deputy Director General of the National Cryptologic Centre (CCN), and Commissioner Martín Sánchez, from the General Information Division of the Spanish National Police. Together, they addressed the complex interaction between cybercrime, espionage and cyber operations with geopolitical implications typical of hybrid warfare scenarios.

During his intervention, the commander of the Joint Cyberspace Command stressed that the line determining whether a cyberattack is a criminal action or has geopolitical implications depends on “the effects it produces and whether these affect national defence, as understood by NATO”.

In this regard, he recalled that the Joint Cyberspace Command and the Armed Forces have “both offensive and defensive capabilities to deter and, if necessary, defeat” those responsible for cyberattacks. These capabilities can be employed by the Command “when ordered to do so”.

Regarding the legal measures to counter destabilising actions by state actors, the commander of the MCCE pointed out that “the military penal code is very outdated and lags far behind technological developments, and it is the responsibility of each state to update it”. In this sense, he stressed that due to “the current trend of protecting anonymity, identifying those responsible becomes even more difficult”.

In order to achieve greater effectiveness in this effort, the vice admiral advocated “increasing public awareness, because those responsible for these actions are sometimes unaware of the damage they can cause and the legal consequences they may face”.

In the military sphere, he acknowledged that the Command “will never have enough personnel” to counter the numerical superiority of cyber attackers. For this reason, he argued that the strategy should focus on “training the rest of the Armed Forces and promoting the development of these capabilities among all military personnel so they can also operate in the cyberspace domain”.

In addition, the Command also took part in a second roundtable discussion together with three companies from the sector, highlighting the role of innovation in cybersecurity companies and the importance of public-private cooperation to help guide corporate investment.

RootedCon is one of the leading events in the technology sector, bringing together professionals, companies, researchers and hacking and cybersecurity enthusiasts, with a clear technical and practical focus.