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Nato staff get cyber-defence training centre

Published: 19 May 2008 09:20 BST

A Nato cyber-defence centre of excellence has been formally established to carry out research and training in how to combat cyberwarfare.

The centre will be based in Tallinn, Estonia, and will be used to train Nato's civilian and military staff in cyber-defence techniques.

Seven Nato member states have signed documents for the formal establishment of the Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence: Estonia, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Spain.

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Nato is also creating a Cyber Defence Management Authority to protect its allies against online attacks, such as those suffered by Estonia in 2007.

A denial-of-service attack brought down key banking and state systems in Estonia, effectively crippling the country and prompting Nato to carry out a thorough assessment of its approach to cyber-defence.

General James Mattis, Nato supreme allied commander for transformation, said there is a compelling need for the centre to help Nato "defy and successfully counter the threats in this area".

Credit: Nato fires up cyber defences from silicon.com