German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen, right, speaks with from left, British Secretary of State for Defense Michael Fallon, U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during a meeting of the North Atlantic Council at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016. NATO defense ministers convene a two-day meeting to discuss current defense issues and whether the Alliance should take a more direct role in dealing with its gravest migrant crisis since WWII. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
NATO and the European Union have signed an agreement to improve cooperation in cyberdefense, which NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called a concrete example of the two Brussels-based organizations joining forces to counter modern forms of hybrid warfare.
The technical agreement, signed at NATO headquarters on Wednesday, establishes a framework for emergency response teams from NATO and the EU to exchange information and share best practices, Stoltenberg told reporters. Since Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea, NATO and the EU, which have 22 member countries in common, have accelerated cooperation in a number of defense-related fields.
In a statement, the European Union said the new agreement will facilitate information-sharing to improve cyber incident prevention, detection and response at both the EU and NATO.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, left, walks with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg prior to a meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016. NATO defense ministers convene a two-day meeting to discuss current defense issues and whether the Alliance should take a more direct role in dealing with its gravest migrant crisis since WWII. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, Pool)
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