On 24th October the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg paid a first visit to the NCI Agency's Cyber Security Operations Centre in Mons.
The NCI General Manager Koen Gijsbers together with Ian West, Chief of Cyber Security, briefed the Secretary General on the Agency's cyber security organization, it's unique capabilities as well as some of the more significant cyber threats that provide daily challenges to the security of Alliance networks.
Following the presentation, Captain 'Rick' McCartney, Head of Cyber Security Operations and cyber defence expert Jean-Francois Agneesens presented the new Rapid Reaction Team Kits which were delivered as part of the NCIRC Full Operating Capability project. The kits are designed to provide the highly specialized tools that cyber security staffs would need whenever deployed to support NATO sites and Allies in the event of a major cyber incident, as approved by the North Atlantic Council.
The visit of the Secretary General highlighted the importance of this key Alliance capability and the need to continue updating and improving NATO's cyber defence capabilities keeping pace with evolving technology and changing threats. The collaboration and innovation with Industry as well as the integration with the Operations community (for planning, preparation and conduct of our military operations) is key to smart and effective cyber defence.