“Last year NATO Allies agreed to strengthen cyber defence. We look forward to substantial decisions on cyber defence at the NATO Summit in Vilnius. NATO partnership with Ukraine, the like-minded Asia-Pacific countries and other partners are vital for our shared cyber security. We have to exhaust the potential presented by such partnerships to the fullest,” said Minister of National Defence Arvydas Anušauskas welcoming participants of the first Cyber Champions Summit. On April 18 the event pulled together high-level NATO and Asia-Pacific experts in Vilnius to discuss cybersecurity trends, threats and opportunities for cooperation.
Representatives from countries and major IT companies explored opportunities for cooperation in responding to global cyber security challenges and discussed ways to protect supply chains, critical infrastructure and increase preparedness for cyber-attacks.
“Cyberspace is an area of strategic competition and global conflict. We can only protect it through cooperation. Therefore, what is happening in the Indo-Pacific is important for Europe, and what is happening in Europe is important for the Indo-Pacific region. As we see the rapprochement between China and Russia, we need to do more to promote cooperation between our countries and partners. We must look at security globally, not regionally,” noted David van Weel, NATO Under-Secretary General for Emerging Security Threats at the Summit.
NATO and Asia-Pacific partners explored the possibilities for future cooperation in the cyber domain, such as exchanging information about cyber threats, improving policy coordination and organising joint exercises. The need to develop NATO’s cyber dialogue with Australia, Japan and South Korea was highlighted and is expected to be on the agenda of the upcoming NATO Summit in Vilnius. In addition, participation in joint initiatives such as the Counter Ransomware Initiative is a good platform to accelerate information exchange and coordinated efforts to counter cyber threats, including those posed by autocratic regimes.
The Cyber Champions Summit was organised by the Ministry of National Defence in cooperation with the National Cyber Security Centre and Regional Cyber Defence Centre. The Summit aims at providing a platform for countries to share experiences and strengthen ties in developing joint projects in the field of cyber security. In addition, from now on it is a platform for the representatives of the public and private sectors to discover new opportunities for cooperation in order to protect critical infrastructure more effectively and to accelerate the development of innovations which increase resilience to cyber threats.
It was decided that Australia with Lithuania will consider next steps for maintaining the momentum established from this year’s Cyber Champions Summit. They will continue to work together to ensure continuous discussions and preparation for the next Summit to deepen the expertise and cover broad spectrum of cyber challenges.
The summary of the Summit is available here: chairs-report.pdf (nksc.lt)
