Australia has announced it is joining the Tallinn, Estonia-based NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence.
The centre said on Twitter that Australia’s foreign minister, Julie Bishop, announced the news at the opening of her country’s pop-up embassy in Tallinn. She joined the event from Australia via Skype.
Australia becomes the second global partner of NATO to join the centre after Japan who joined in January 2018.
“Accession of Australia expands the reach and cooperation of like-minded nations in cyber defence beyond the Euro-Atlantic area, making our cyber defence hub truly global,” Merle Maigre, the director of the centre, said in a statement.
The Australian foreign ministry said in a statement that an Australian defence force member will be seconded to the centre for a three-month period each year. “This year, Australia will observe Locked Shields, the world’s largest cyber defence exercise,” the ministry said in a statement.
“Now, more than ever, we must engage with the international community to set clear expectations for responsible state behaviour in cyberspace,” the foreign ministry said. “The international rules based order applies online, just as it does offline.”
The pop-up embassy of Australia in Tallinn will be the country’s temporary presence in Estonia for 12 months. The embassy will help support Australia becoming a participating member of the Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence.
The NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence is a NATO-accredited cyber defence hub focusing on research, training and exercises. The international military organisation based in Estonia is a community of currently 20 nations providing a 360-degree look at cyber defence, with expertise in the areas of technology, strategy, operations and law.
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Cover: NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence HQ in Tallinn.
