The North Atlantic Council issued a statement July 19, simultaneously with U.S. EU UK and other allies, expressing solidarity with victims of recent malicious cyber activity, saying it agrees with statements by allies such as Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States that blame the People’s Republic of China for the intrusion into Microsoft Exchange servers.
NATO said in a statement posted on its website today that we note with growing concern that cyber threats to the security of the North Atlantic Alliance are sophisticated, destructive, coercive, and becoming more frequent. This is illustrated by recent ransomware incidents and other malicious cyber activity. These cyber threats exploit weaknesses in the hardware and software supply chain to target our critical infrastructure and democratic institutions.
We condemn such malicious cyber activities, which are designed to destabilize, undermine Euro-Atlantic security and disrupt the daily lives of our citizens, the statement said. We use NATO as a platform for political consultation to share national concerns about malicious cyber activities, as well as national approaches and responses, and to plan possible collective responses.
After reaffirming its defensive mandate, NATO’s statement asserts its determination to actively deter, defend and respond to cyber threats of all kinds at all times, in accordance with international law, using the full range of capabilities, as appropriate, and will continue to adapt to the evolving cyber threat landscape. And such threats are influenced by state and non-state actors, including state-sponsored. NATO stated that it remains committed to maintaining strong cyber defenses, including through the full implementation of NATO’s defense interventions on cyber.
The NATO statement expressed solidarity with all those affected by the recent malicious cyber activity, including the Microsoft Exchange server breach, noting that such malicious cyber activity undermines security, confidence and stability in cyberspace.
NATO’s statement said we agree with statements issued by allies such as Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States that place the blame for the Microsoft Exchange server intrusion on the People’s Republic of China. In line with our recent Brussels Summit Communiqué, we call on all countries, including China, to uphold their international commitments and obligations and to act responsibly in the international system, including in cyberspace. We also reiterate our willingness to maintain a constructive dialogue with China on the basis of our interests in areas relevant to the NATO Alliance, such as cyber threats, and on common challenges.
Recent Comments