Lynn Briefs North Atlantic Council on Cybersecurity

Photo By Cherie A Cullen | Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Lynn III speaks at the North Atlantic Council Cyber Presentation in Brussels, Belgium, Sept. 14, 2010.  

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM

09.14.2010

Story by Jim Garamone 

Office of the Secretary of Defense Public Affairs           

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Lynn III stirred a lot of interest and questions on cybersecurity during a briefing to the North Atlantic Council at NATO headquarters here Sept. 14.

Lynn arrived here this morning and immediately started a series of meetings at NATO and at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe in nearby Mons. Cybersecurity clearly was the focus of the day.

Lynn briefed the council on the threats posed by nation states and hackers. He spoke about the need for doctrinal and operational efforts to confront the threats, senior defense officials traveling with him said. The deliberations of the North Atlantic Council are secret, but officials did say the deputy's presentation caused a lively question-and-answer session with the representatives of the other 27 NATO nations.

Lynn flew all night from Washington and then met with U.S. Ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder and Navy Vice Adm. Richard Gallagher, the U.S. military representative here. He moved from the U.S. delegation to the office of the alliance's secretary general, where he and his staff met with Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

Lynn moved down the hall for his presentation to the council. The council is composed of all of the permanent representatives of the NATO countries. Again, officials said the deputy secretary's presentation was well-received.

The secretary left the headquarters and moved on to Mons, where he met with the Supreme Allied Commander Navy Adm. James Stavridis and his senior staff. The deputy then toured the NATO Information Assurance Technical Center at SHAPE and was briefed on its capabilities, as well as the bureaucratic and economic roadblocks that stand in the way of a better cyberdefense for the alliance's computers.

Lynn then moved across the base, where NATO special operators briefed him on their capabilities.

• Date Taken: 09.14.2010
• Date Posted: 09.14.2010 17:46
• Story ID: 56276
• Location: BRUSSELS, BE