Defense Secretary Ash Carter has asked NATO defense ministers to brace for hybrid cyber threats alongside efforts to bolster military preparedness, Stars and Stripes reported Thursday.
John Vandiver writes the goal is to detect hybrid attacks at an early stage in order to identify the aggressor and prompt the NATO leadership to respond.
“To make sure allied nations are prepared to counter hybrid warfare, you need to understand tactics, techniques, procedures and resource implications that are required to do so,†Carter told a NATO meeting in Brussels.
“I’ve asked [NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg] to make this a priority at the next ministerial,†he said.
The defense ministers agreed to give NATO commander Gen. Philip Breedlove the power to deploy troops and increase the size of the NATO Response Force to 40,000 soldiers from 13,000, according to the report.
Carter said the U.S. would also provide strategic airlift, reconnaissance and surveillance, combat helicopters, command post and special operations forces to NATO, Vandiver reports.
