Slovak President: People Need to Be Safe On- and Offline

Nations have the responsibility to ensure security online as well as offline, emphasised President of Slovakia, Andrej Kiska visiting the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence today.

“Digital world is a great opportunity for small countries such as Slovakia and Estonia. But only if we make sure that lives of our people are equally safe both online and offline,” remarked President Kiska.

“Slovakia was one of the founding nations of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in 2008. This is characteristic of their national commitment to cyber defence,” said Sven Sakkov, Director if the NATO CCD COE. Mr Sakkov highlighted that Slovak experts have over the years been an invaluable asset to the Tallinn-based centre and their contribution highly appreciated by colleagues as well as the Alliance and nations.

The Tallinn-based NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence is a NATO-accredited knowledge hub, think-tank and training facility. The international military organisation focuses on interdisciplinary applied research and development, as well as consultations, trainings and exercises in the field of cyber security. The Centre’s mission is to enhance capability, cooperation and information-sharing between NATO, Allies and partners in cyber defence.

Membership of the Centre is open to all Allies. As of October 2015, the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Greece, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the USA have signed on as sponsoring nations. Austria and Finland have joined the Centre as contributing participants.