Colonel Artur Suzik of the Estonian Defence forces handed over the command of the Tallinn-based NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence to Sven Sakkov today.
“Cyber is not a new security challenge any more, it is here to stay and it is transforming most facets of our everyday life. It is ubiquitous and all-encompassing,” Sven Sakkov, the new Director of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence said. “There is no other topic more exciting in modern world than cyber. And there is no better team in cyber than the team in this Centre.”
“The astounding growth of the Centre in recent years is testament to national defence priorities. The NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence was established with 7 nations on board. Today you see the flags of 14 sponsoring nations and one contributing participant,” said Colonel Artur Suzik, Director since 2012. “The fact that 3 more nations will join the Centre very soon only confirms that,” noted Suzik adding that this will make the NATO CCD COE largest of its kind in terms of participating nations.
Sven Sakkov has been the Undersecretary for Defence Policy in the Estonian Ministry of Defence since 2008, coordinating policy planning, international cooperation and work with NATO and EU. He has previously served as Defence Counsellor at the Estonian Embassy in Washington and Director of Policy Planning Department at the Ministry of Defence. Sven Sakkov has also worked at the Estonian Delegation to NATO and the Office of the President of the Republic of Estonia.
Colonel Artur Suzik was appointed the Director of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in 2012. His previous positions among others have included commander of the Signal Battalion, Chief of Planning Section of the Communication and Information Systems Department and Chief of J6 at the Headquarters of Estonian Defence Forces. His has also served as a staff officer at the Estonian Delegation to NATO.
The Tallinn-based NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence is a NATO-accredited knowledge hub focused 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. The Centre is staffed and financed by sponsoring nations and contributing participants.
Estonian Defence Forces photographs of the event are available for free from http://pildid.mil.ee/NATO-k-berkaitsekeskus-sai-uue-lema-27-08-2015 (photo credit: Siim Teder, Estonian Defence Forces).