Swiss army joins NATO cyber defence exercise in Estonia

This week, the Swiss Armed Forces are taking part in the NATO Cyber Coalition exercise to defend against cyber attacks.

More than 1,000 participants from over 30 countries are participating in this exercise, Swissinfo reports.

The aim is to jointly solve complex problems, close weak points and create a common picture of the situation, the Armed Forces announced at the start of the exercise on November 27.

The Cyber Coalition event has been carried out regularly since 2008. This year's edition of the exercise will last until December 1. According to the information provided, a virtual training environment was created especially for Cyber Coalition so that the real systems are not damaged.

Strengthening cyber defence is one of the Swiss government's security policy priorities. The Federal Council wants to gradually expand the corresponding capabilities of the Armed Forces by the mid-2030s. According to information from 2022, it expects to invest billions of euros for this purpose.

At the beginning of 2024, the newly created Cyber Command will replace the current Armed Forces Command Support Organisation. The newly formed command staff will use the NATO exercise for an initial test, according to a statement released on November 27.