British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak today presented a major military aid package for Ukraine in Warsaw. He also spoke with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk about the European security architecture. “Sunak indicated today that he wants to become a superpower again,” said Dave Maasland, CEO of cybersecurity company ESET.
‘Continuous battle in digital world new NATO doctrine’
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According to Maasland, the support package clearly indicates how Sunak wants to guide the UK back to the status of a great power. ‘The country wants to invest in innovation and technology, with cyberspace becoming just as important as air and land innovation.’ This includes drones and cyber assets, for both defense and attack. ‘This clearly indicates the position cyber currently occupies in modern warfare.’
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The United Kingdom will also collaborate with Poland in the field of cybersecurity. The UK ranks fourth globally for the strength of its cyber security and is taking a ‘quite unique’ approach to countering attacks. “Their intelligence services are extremely well informed,” says Maasland. Poland, on the other hand, is not yet considered a cyber superpower, but many Russian cyber attacks do take place there. “A lot of information for the UK can also be obtained from those places,” he says.
Constant struggle in digital world
According to Maasland, it is clear that NATO is shifting its focus to ongoing battles in the digital world. “Investments in cyber security are part of the new doctrine and the UK appears to be taking the lead in this.”
‘Investments in cybersecurity are part of the new NATO doctrine’
The emphasis is on strengthening the defense of vital infrastructure and combating information operations and disinformation. “We mainly see that the latter has disruptive effects,” says Maasland. The Netherlands is not involved in this specific collaboration, ‘but I expect it will play a greater role in cybersecurity in the future because of our expertise in this area’.
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