Albania hosted delegates from 32 NATO member countries, including foreign ministers, defense ministers, and cyber ambassadors, for a high-level conference focused on cybersecurity and collective defense.
In a message to the conference, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, NATO chair, emphasized the growing importance of cybersecurity in modern defense.
“Today, the keyboard is a weapon of war, targeting our societies daily. State and non-state actors attempt to breach our defenses and interfere with government services,” Rutte stated. “In response, NATO continues to strengthen its capabilities in the digital domain. Ten years ago, cyber became an operational domain. We have conducted exercises and operations, and adversaries know that violations of this space could trigger Article 5.”
Rutte highlighted NATO’s initiatives, including the Integrated Cyber Centre in Belgium, which monitors threats to NATO’s military and civilian cyber infrastructure, and upcoming measures agreed in The Hague to reach 5% defense spending for cyber and other defense investments.
He stressed that while individual nations are responsible for their own cyber defenses, NATO provides a unique network allowing member states to respond collectively. “NATO is an alliance of shared values, and in the digital age, no member stands alone,” Rutte concluded.
