site.btaBulgaria Takes Part in NATO's Largest Cyber Defence Exercise

Bulgaria took part in the 15th NATO’s flagship cyber defence exercise Cyber Coalition 2023, which is one of the largest in the world. In 2023, the exercise involved more than 1,000 participants from over 30 NATO structures, member states, partners, and EU structures, the Defence Ministry said here on Friday.

"Such exercises are especially valuable in working out the interactions between different stakeholders in the country. We count on allies’ support in case a complex situation arises, so it is key for us to have well-established and working interaction mechanisms," Defence Minister Todor Tagarev said, addressing the Bulgarian participants in the exercise during his visit to the Prof. Tsvetan Lazarov Institute of Defence. Tagarev added that one of the tasks of this country’s Strategic Review of the Defence Policy is to identify and propose such a mechanism for interaction at the national level. The Minister praised the participation of students and cadets and said that it is an essential element for building capacity to tackle such tasks. He noted that cyber defence exercises should also be organized at the national level at least once or twice a year.

The Cyber Coalition 2023 exercise aims to test participants’ capabilities in realistic scenarios involving the use of advanced cyber threats. The main objective is to build a cyber coalition of NATO structures, member states, and partners to strengthen the Alliance's capabilities to deter, defend, and counter threats in cyberspace.

Bulgaria, which is participating in the exercise for the eleventh time, set the following national objectives: to form a joint team with representatives of governmental structures, business, and academia; to improve the participants’ preparedness and training to deal with cyber attacks and incidents; and to practice and test procedures for response, reporting and cooperation at national and alliance level.