Private sector plays bigger role in NATO cyber strategy.

• Author: Machi, Vivienne

As NATO allies train for possible clashes with Russian forces on land, at sea or in the air, the organization's information technology arm is beefing up its cyber capabilities to defend against potential attacks from state and non-state actors in the digital realm.

With the U.S. military similarly making its network defense a battlefield priority, NATO is investing billions of dollars to refresh its cyber network design and continue training efforts across the alliance, while reinforcing its partnerships with the cybersecurity industry, according to current and former officials.

The organization--which is made up of 28 member nations including the United States, Canada and many European countries--has been investing in cyber defense since the early 2000s, but has made concerted efforts to work with the private sector on the matter only in the last two years, said Koen Gijsbers, general manager of the NATO Communications and Information Agency.

Prior to the 2014 Wales Summit, cyber defense was seen as "a technical solution," Gijsbers said. But as the threat became more severe, "it was clear that we needed to speed up the relationship with industry" and develop a higher level of cyber defense, both at the NATO level and among individual nations, he added.

NCI Agency--headquartered in Brussels with locations all over Europe and in Norfolk, Virginia--is the information technology, communications and cyber defense arm of NATO, and serves as the acquisition office for those technologies, according to Gijsbers. It is also responsible for managing and operating the organization's air and missile defense capabilities, and develops technical standards for cyber defense for its members.

Many of those nations have been investing heavily in defense capabilities--including cyber--as Russia boosts its offensive posture with more aggressive tactics. NATO last year announced business opportunities in cyber, air and missile defense worth nearly $4 billion through 2019.

The opportunities include: a major satellite communications contract worth about $1.6 billion and procurement for advanced software, according to the agency.

The capability refresher includes training for the agency's staff, as well as larger nation-inclusive training events, Gijsbers said. For the first time, NATO held a major cyber exercise in Estonia in 2016 with members of industry and partner nations participating.

"It's important to have those trainings, because this is how you prepare...