European Defence Agency boosts cyberdefence means.

Green light for Cyber Defence Education, Training, Exercise & Evaluation Platform! Last week, EU Member States agreed to commence work on a platform to provide Member States with education, training, exercise and evaluation (ETEE) services in the field of cyber security/defence. The platform will be led by the European Security and Defence College (ESDC) and will build on the support already provided by the European Defence Agency (EDA), the European External Action Service (EEAS) and the European Commission.

(Picture source: European Defence Agency)

The main task of the ETEE platform within the ESDC is the coordination of cyber security and defence training and education for EU Member States. The existing training will be harmonised and standardised and new courses will close the gaps between training needs and training activities. These efforts will be jointly undertaken by various stakeholders and partner organisations.

In response to Member States’ requirement to fill the skills gap in cyber defence, EDA played an important role in developing the design proposal of this platform, following the results of a relevant feasibility study which were properly adapted to the actual Member States’ needs.

The ESDC will liaise closely with the EEAS, the Commission and EDA on the implementation. EDA will seek to migrate existing initiatives on education, training and exercises to the ETEE platform for sustained delivery into the future; a prime example is the increasingly well-established Cyber Strategic Decision-Making Exercise. The ESDC will also seek synergies with respective NATO initiatives, also in the frame of the implementation of the EU-NATO Joint Declaration.

The cyber platform is planned to reach initial operating capability by 1 September 2018. Meanwhile, staff will be recruited, and an initial training catalogue drafted. The full operational capability of the platform is planned to be announced in April 2019.