The commander of the Joint Cyber Command advocates a proactive approach to cyber defence at the University of Málaga’s summer courses

Vice-Admiral Roca took part in the course ‘Technological Innovation: Strategic Technologies for Europe – Quantum Computing and Dual-Use Defence’

The commander of the Joint Cyberspace Command (MCCE), Vice-Admiral Javier Roca, took part in the summer course ‘Technological Innovation: Strategic Technologies for Europe – Quantum Computing and Dual-Use Defence’, organised by the General Foundation of the University of Málaga (FGUMA). During his address, the Vice-Admiral outlined the Command’s operational mission and emphasised the need to move away from traditional defensive postures in favour of an active and resilient cyber defence.

Vice-Admiral Roca emphasised the MCCE’s raison d’être, stating that “our raison d’être is cyber operations. We are the spearhead, the Armed Forces’ contribution to national cybersecurity”. In this regard, he explained that, in the face of increasingly sophisticated attacks aimed at achieving long-term persistence and control within infrastructure, passive protection alone is ineffective. The Vice-Admiral advocated a proactive approach that seeks to locate and neutralise threats directly on the adversary’s territory before the attack materialises.

The commander of the MCCE also sought to highlight the growing vulnerabilities of a world that is now purely ‘phygital’, where dependence on technology has blurred the boundaries between the physical and the digital. “Any connected device, from a standard router to integrated industrial systems, is a gateway to compromising critical infrastructure,” he warned. In this context, he emphasised that investment in logical layers of security is worthless if the human element fails due to negligent practices.

Finally, the commander of the MCCE outlined the operational resilience model applied by the Command to contain and mitigate damage in the event of inevitable security breaches. In this regard, he highlighted the methodology of the PASE Plan (Primary, Alternative, Contingency and Emergency Plan), and emphasised that the effectiveness of any response protocol lies exclusively in continuous training through realistic drills.

Vice-Admiral Roca’s presentation forms part of an academic and institutional forum aimed at analysing how quantum computing and dual-use technologies — applicable to both the civilian and defence sectors — are key to Europe’s economic future and strategic autonomy.