Nato
is definitely focusing on cyberwar.
The North Atlantic alliance is searching bids from
(top) defense companies to upgrade its cyber
capabilities.
From today's WSJ, FYI.
David
DECEMBER 19, 2011
Firms Bid on NATO Cyberwar
'Technically
Ambitious' Upgrade in Security Likely to Lead to
More-Lucrative Work
BRUSSELS—NATO, fresh from its battlefield success
in Libya, is focusing on the next front: cyberwar.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization on Monday
will collect bids from some of the world's top
defense companies, including
Lockheed Martin
Co. and
Northrop Grumman
Corp., to update and expand the alliance's
cybersecurity abilities.
NATO
Cyberdefense
specialists monitor networks at NATO's
computer-incident response center.
The €32 million ($42 million) contract, although
valued at less than the price of one fighter jet,
holds great significance because it cements the
alliance's role in protecting cutting-edge
infrastructure, say NATO officials.
"It's a small amount of money but it's technically
ambitious," said Suleyman Anil, head of NATO's Cyber
Defense Section, in an interview. The systems being
developed will need to collect and sift through vast
amounts of data across NATO networks stretching from
the U.S. to Afghanistan. The unit, NATO's Computer
Incident Response Capability center, must also be able
to assist member governments facing major
cyberattacks.
Defense contractors and technology companies from
across the 28-country alliance are preparing to
compete fiercely for the contract. Traditional
military spending is getting slashed on both sides
of the Atlantic, but cybersecurity remains one area
where governments continue to invest.
The NATO contract is unusual because it lacks the
domestic politics that sway most national-defense
procurements. Northrop Grumman, for example, sees it
potentially as a way to leverage its position as a
U.S. leader in cybersecurity for greater traction in
Europe, said Chris Durbin, head of the company's
European cyber operations in London.
NATO's list of potential bidders, published in
June, includes more than 300 companies from across
the bloc. They range from defense contractors to
information-technology companies including
International
Business Machines Corp. and
Cisco Systems
Inc. Both companies declined to say whether they are
bidding for the contract.
The winning team stands to gain both prestige and
more-lucrative contracts. NATO plans to expand and
update its systems for many years. And only the
U.S., Britain and a handful of NATO's 26 other
members or 40-odd partner countries currently have
clear and active cyberdefense strategies, experts
say. For the rest, NATO's program offers a blueprint
and even a shopping list, say industry officials.
"There could be a long comet's tail of
opportunity from an industrial perspective," said
Paul MacGregor, London-based director of cyber
solutions for Italy's
Finmeccanica
SpA, which is bidding with Northrop Grumman.
The project covers many fronts, including
preventing cyberattacks and detecting any that do
occur at more than 20 NATO locations. It entails
software, support and hardware, such as advanced
sensors that will be placed at points around NATO's
networks. Other elements include mobile cyberdefense
kits for rapid reaction and centralized systems that
will give NATO officials in Belgium information on
problem situations that they can use to make
decisions and react.
NATO, which was established in 1949 to defend
against Soviet-bloc tanks and missiles, started
addressing cyberdefense in 2002, when leaders saw
risks arising from the Balkan conflict. NATO's
earliest cyber operations focused on protecting the
alliance's own networks. When Estonia faced
cyberattack in 2007, alliance specialists swooped in
to help its member, but "NATO wasn't prepared to
assist," said Mr. Anil. The situation was repeated a
year later, when Georgia, a NATO ally, faced
cyberattacks during a conventional military fight
with Russia.
Partly as a result, NATO leaders last year
started focusing on future security challenges. In
June, NATO defense ministers agreed on a new
cyberdefense policy. The new contract will put teeth
behind their decision. NATO aims to select a winner
early next year and get the new systems running by
year-end, Mr. Anil said. Defense companies say the
timeline is extremely ambitious.
Analysts say cyberdefense is a logical direction for
NATO to move because the threat of conventional war in
Europe appears to have receded. And since the Internet
operates across borders, the alliance could provide a
nexus for international cooperation to fight attacks.
Some observers say NATO needs to accelerate its
efforts and expand its cyberdefense umbrella even
wider.
"NATO's current program is a good start but needs
to extend beyond NATO networks," said James. A.
Lewis, a program director at the Washington-based
Center for Strategic and International Studies, at a
recent conference on cyberdefense in Brussels.
"Cyber targets will probably be similar to the
Warsaw Pact's early targets, such as
telecommunications and infrastructure," and so
outside NATO's own networks, he said.
Mr. Anil noted that NATO has clearly defined
roles in helping defend its members, and would need
to be invited to assist at a political level. But
high-tech threats present new issues to consider, he
said. "Cyber is different because networks cross
borders."