Between 7 and 11 April, representatives from 20 allied governments and national agencies participated in a NATO-led exercise designed to strengthen mutual support in the cyber domain.

The activity aimed to improve coordination and collective response mechanisms for cyber incidents affecting critical national infrastructure. Through simulated threat scenarios, participants practised real-time information exchange, joint decision-making, and coordinated response planning.

According to NATO, cyber activities targeting critical infrastructure, industrial control systems, and public sector services have increased in frequency.

Such activities are considered to serve various objectives, including information gathering and operational disruption.

The role of cyber operations in modern conflict gained increased attention following Russia's actions in Ukraine in 2022, where cyber activity was observed alongside traditional military operations.

Hosted by Czechia, the exercise served to test NATO's Virtual Cyber Incident Support Capability (VCISC), a coordination platform introduced at the 2023 Vilnius Summit.

VCISC enables nations to request and receive cyber assistance from designated counterparts across the Alliance.

The support offered includes services such as malware analysis, cyber threat intelligence, and digital forensics. However, the initiative is voluntary, with allies contributing national resources and expertise to mitigate the impact of significant cyber incidents and support recovery.

Separately, in January 2025, the US officials met with her Nordic-Baltic counterparts from Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden.

Discussions centred on enhancing regional cooperation to safeguard undersea cable infrastructure-critical to communications and energy systems. Participants noted the broadening spectrum of threats to these assets.

In parallel, NATO launched the Baltic Sentry to reinforce the protection of critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea region. The initiative is intended to bolster NATO's posture and improve its capacity to respond promptly to destabilising activities.

In July 2024, NATO also announced the expansion of the role of its Integrated Cyber Defence Centre (NICC).

The Centre is tasked with enhancing the protection of NATO and allied networks, as well as supporting the operational use of cyberspace. It provides commanders with insights into potential cyber threats and vulnerabilities, including those related to civilian infrastructure essential to military operations.

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