Top brass calls on NATO to sign up

TALLINN -- General James N. Mattis, enjoys one of the oddest sounding job titles around: ' NATO Supreme Allied Commander Transformation'. Any notion that the military man is therefore responsible for overseeing how hi-tech tanks and fighter planes can morph themselves into humble domestic appliances as in the 'Transformers' film and TV show isn't quite as  wide of the mark as one might expect, given that the general is involved with the Estonian-based high-tech cyberdefense center.

Now on a visit to Estonia, Mattis told reporters after meeting with commander of the Estonian defense forces Lt. Gen. Ants Laaneots that he believed all NATO member countries should sign up to the cyberdefense center.

"If you are not interested in cyberattacks, you can be sure cyberattacks are interested in you," Mattis said. 

Lt. Gen. Laaneots added that in addition to the seven founding countries, Romania and Turkey had expressed readiness to accede to the center. The document on the establishment of the cyberdefense center was signed on May 14 by the defense force commanders of Germany, Slovakia, Spain, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. France, too, has displayed interest in acceding to the center.

Laaneots said that the cyberdefense center must get accreditation from NATO and according to the present plans the center can launch operations in August.

"According to the present indications it seems that the accreditation will be positive,"he said.

A final all-clear on the status of the center will be given by the NATO Military Committee that consists of member countries' defense forces commanders; the decision will be endorsed by the North Atlantic Council, NATO's highest political steering body.

Laaneots said that the NATO cyberdefense center would probably start full-scale operation in December when most of the specialists despatched by member countries arrive in Estonia. In all the center will have about thirty people working there.

General Mattis remarked that NATO had a lot to learn from Estonia in the cyberdefense sphere as Estonia received invaluable experience due to the cyberattacks launched against it starting with last April.

"We live in an age of cyberattacks and defense of our information space is extremely important," James N. Mattis said.

The cost of the infrastructure and installations of the center will be footed by Estonia as the receiving country, but wages to the employees will be paid by sender countries. The necessary means for the activity of the center will come from a joint budget to which all the participating countries will proportionally contribute.