The speed of cyber threats and the need for partnerships this creates were recurring themes during Day 1 of NITEC16, as high-level speakers took a hard look at strategic challenges.
President of Estonia H.E. Toomas Hendrik Ilves and Commander of U.S. Cyber Command Admiral Michael S. Rogers agreed that data integrity is a major concern.
"Data is now a commodity that has value in and of itself," Admiral Rogers said, adding that big data analytics give adversaries a tool to generate meaningful insights with data.
President Ilves noted that the Internet of Things will be a prime target for hackers as society becomes more digitized. "The thing to lose sleep about is the Internet of Things," he said.
Business executives and NATO representatives alike emphasized the need to bring the speed of acquisition processes into better alignment with the speed needed to defend against cyber threats. Admiral Rogers noted a new trend of government approaching the private sector with a problem to solve instead of asking for specific solutions, which may limit possibilities.
The stage is set for intensive discussion of NATO business opportunities on Days 2 and 3. Follow NCI Agency on Twitter for continued updates of NITEC 16 on 8 and 9 June!