Challenging NATO’s Security Operations in Electronic Warfare

Challenging NATO’s Security Operations in Electronic Warfare: the Policy of Cyber-Defence: the Case of Greece.

Dr. Marios Panagiotis Efthymiopoulos

Biography: PhD University of Crete, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Department of Political Sciences, former academic envoy of the Greek Foreign Ministry at the NATO Defense College, Rome Italy, author of the book: NATO in the 21^st century: NATOs need for a new security concept and the ever enlarging NATO-Russia relations.

marios.efthymiopoulos@strategyinternational.org

Abstract: NATO is evolving. It is changing. It is estimated that in the 2010 summit meeting in Portugal, Allied member-states will hold, as requested at the Kiehl-Strasbourg summit of 2009, a first evaluation on the need for renewed Strategic Concept. In terms of 21st century asymmetrical warfare, as part of the current security dogma, NATO requires to be technologically updated. This entails NATO to continue its effort to change. The results that shall occur in this subject shall be portrayed to the effort made on the renewed security concept. NATO is steadily unfolding its policy of Cyber-Defence. NATO needs to be operationally ready to counter all attacks of assymetrical warfare, whether from the inside or the outside of its operational  sphere of influence. The aim of this paper to provide the reader with the necessary information to firstly learn what has been done up to this date, in relations to NATO's operational preparations and in relations to its Cyber-Defence policy. In a second part, this paper examines and evaluates current policy decisions, as to understand whether a) NATO will actually take a major step into becoming involved into a new form of self-defensive or offensive assymetrical warfare b) whether a political-military organisation of international members, such as NATO can actually afford working together. C) Whether the unfolding of Cyber-Defence policy will be implemented in NATO's operational environments, as to counter new phenomena of terrorism via the web. An explanation on network preparations and operations shall be made. At the same time an explanation shall be provided, why should the internet be so important to NATO's network centric operations and why does NATO need a Cyber-Defence policy. In practical terms, the case study of Greece is examined. What is Greece’s policy objectives vis a vis NATO policy of Cyber-Defense? What has been done by Greece in creating the necessary steps to both take an initiative at NATO and at the same time initiate a national policy of implementation of the possible outcomes decided by NATO Heads of States? This paper is part of the author’s wider topics of research made on NATO and its policies in the 21st century. 

Keywords: NATO Cyber Defence Concept, NATO Cyber-Defence Centre of Excellence, North Atlantic Council, Transformation, Greece’s policy on Cyber-defence.