Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană participated virtually at the Cybersec Global 2022 event today (25 January 2022). Focusing on the tensions between Russia and Ukraine during his keynote speech, the Deputy Secretary General stressed that NATO has been working with Ukraine for years to increase its cyber defences, and will continue to do so at pace. He said: "The use of hybrid attacks against Ukraine, including cyber-attacks and disinformation, as well as the massing of advanced weapons on its boarders, underlines the key role of advanced technology in modern warfare".
The Deputy Secretary General pointed out that "China and Russia are investing heavily and deploying new technologies with little regard for human rights or international law, aggressively challenging our technological edge". He recalled that last summer Allies had agreed a new comprehensive cyber defence policy for NATO and went on to say that "we are strengthening our cyber defences and increasing the resilience of our critical infrastructure and supply chains to reduce our vulnerabilities".
The Deputy Secretary General also noted NATO's leading role with regard to the new technologies, in areas such as artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, biotechnology, big data, hypersonics, quantum computing and space. He underlined that to avoid any technology gaps, "we are making sure that transatlantic innovation benefits all Allies". Mr. Geoană emphasized that NATO's strength comes from its unity and its ability to adapt to remain strong and "retaining our technological edge is a big part of this", he added.
