EU Defence Ministers assembled in Tallinn, Estonia on September 7-8, 2017 for first ever strategic table-top cyber defence exercise “EU CYBRID 2017” – a blend of cyber and hybrid warfare techniques. The primary aim of the exercise was to improve the situational awareness, crisis response and strategic communication at political level for effective utilisation of cyber defence techniques in the wake of future crisis. This exceptionally significant exercise was a joint initiative of the Estonian Presidency of the Council of Europe, the European Defence Agency (EDA) and the Estonian Ministry of Defence. The exercise demonstrated that how coordinated and targeted cyber-campaigns can disrupt military operations and generate wider consequences for the EU.[1]
EU and NATO signed a Joint Declaration in Warsaw on July 8, 2016 to step up their coordination on such exercises for 2017 and 2018. As a first step towards the implementation of this declaration, three interlinked exercises were designed: EU CYBRID 2017; EU PACE17 (Parallel and Coordinated Exercise); and NATO CMX17 (Crisis Management Exercise). These exercises are taking place from September 1 to October 11, 2017. NATO is taking the lead in 2017, whereas the EU will lead in 2018. [2]
