Cyberspace has no physical borders; cyber threats are now acquiring increasing disruptive and destructive power. In light of these two crucial factors NATO’s strategic vision highlighted the need of setting-up a cooperative cyber defense capability in order to meet current and future security and defense challenges. According to the NATO Strategic Concept, adopted in November 2010 in Lisbon, the Smart Defense concept seeks to stimulate synergies and foster Allied Nations’ cooperative efforts, in order to ensure development, acquisition and maintenance of the necessary military capabilities.

Smart Defense is thus assumed by NATO as a way of ensuring non-duplication and integration of national capability development initiatives (pooling and sharing), in the interests of better prioritization and coordination of efforts between NATO and Allied Nations. In the cyber defense area, there are already three Smart Defense Projects: Multinational Cyber Defence Capability Development (MN CD2), Malware Information Sharing Platform (MISP) and Multinational Cyber Defence Education and Training (MNCDE&T). NATO’s Smart Defense calls for a renewed cooperation culture and requires an innovative approach in order to enhance the Alliance’s cyberdefense.

In the 3rd NATO Cyber Defence Smart Defence Projects Conference (CD SDP), held at the Military Academy of Amadora at the end of April, special attention was given to NATO’s cooperation with Industry and Academia and to new NATO-EU cooperation opportunities in the cyber field. In line with this idea, NATOS´s Cyber defense-related Projects (MNCD2, MISP and MNCDE&T) all have the overriding remit of joining forces and working together with industry and academia, building the necessary bridges between international and national initiatives.

GMV, with proven experience in the Cybersecurity sector, took part in the Conference to show how the latest Cybersecurity and Cyber defence technological breakthroughs might help to meet the current challenges faced by the different state security corps and forces. 

José Neves, Security and Defense Director of GMV Portugal, was on hand to attend the main security corps and forces representatives, such as the Portuguese Secretary of State for Defense and the Chief of the Portuguese Armed Forces. Representatives from several countries (Spain, USA, Brazil, Algeria, etc.) and international organizations (namely the European Defence Agency and NATO) also took the chance to visit GMV’s stand and gain a more thorough understanding of the company’s strategy for this market.