NATO on Tuesday launched Cyber Coalition 2014, its largest-ever multinational cyber defense exercise, announced alliance officials. Over the course of the three-day event, more than 400 technical, government, and cyber experts in dozens of geographic locations will defend NATO’s networks from various threats in a contested cyber domain, states the Nov. 18 release. “This exercise will test our systems to make sure that NATO keeps pace with that evolving threat and that the skills and expertise of our cyber specialists are fully up to the task,” said Sorin Ducaru, NATO assistant secretary general for emerging security challenges. For the first time, representatives from academia and industry are observing the exercise, according to the release. This is the seventh year of the annual event.
The U.S. supports “a stronger and more capable” European defense, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said during an Oct. 22 press conference in Brussels—but that defense should not duplicate the functions and capabilities of the NATO alliance.