From John Vandiver, Stars and Stripes:  The United States will join the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense Centre of Excellence during a formal ceremony scheduled for Thursday at the center’s headquarters in Estonia, a country that experienced a massive cyber attack that disabled websites of numerous government institutions in 2007.

The cyber center, which was established one year after that high-profile attack, now includes 10 nations. The center’s objective is to help NATO’s efforts to bolster defense capabilities in the face of cyber threats.

“Our vision is to be the main source of expertise in the field of cooperative cyber defense by accumulating, creating and disseminating knowledge in related matters within NATO, NATO nations and partners,” according to the center’s mission statement.

For the past three years, the center has aimed to accomplish that goal by hosting technical courses, workshops and cyber defense exercises.

In addition to the U.S., Poland also is a new partner at the cyber center. As one of the 10 sponsoring nations, the U.S. must provide experts to work at the center and contribute to a shared budget. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia and Spain also are contributors.  (photo: Carrie Kessler/USAF)

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