Physical borders between countries should not be an obstacle to providing assistance in the event of a threat in cyberspace, Major General Karol Molenda told PAP.
Cyber army commanders and diplomats from 27 EU countries met this week in Legionowo (Mazowieckie). Conference CyberCo – Cyber Commanders and Cyber Ambassadors, organized as part of the ongoing Polish presidency of the Council of the EU, took place on the premises of the Polish Command of the Cyberspace Defense Forces Component in Legionowo near Warsaw.
In addition to commanders from the armed forces of EU countries responsible for defence in cyberspace, the conference was also attended by the so-called cyber ambassadors – diplomats dealing with cybersecurity issues, mainly from the ministries of foreign affairs. Representatives of EU institutions, including the European Defence Agency (EDA), the European External Action Service (EEAS), the Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CNECT) and the European Military Staff (EUMS), were also present at the conference.
“In an era where threats no longer respect national borders, and cyberattacks can paralyze the activities of entities without firing a single shot, it is crucial to take joint action, rethink existing strategies and ensure readiness for cooperation between the civilian and military sectors,” said Major General Karol Molenda during Tuesday’s inauguration of the conference.
In an interview with PAP, the general reminded that Poland is constantly one of the most attacked countries in cyberspace in the world. Despite this, he said, although many analyses and strategies have been prepared to protect critical infrastructure from physical destruction, so far few analyses have been prepared related to the adversary’s equally destructive effects through cyberspace. That is why this type of meetings are so important, allowing us to better prepare for all kinds of threats,” the general pointed out.
He stressed that the armed forces are increasingly interacting with elements of civilian critical infrastructure. “At the European level, it is necessary to define these dependencies and develop common mechanisms for its more effective protection. The ability to joint, quick response in real time should become a standard in the conditions of the modern battlefield” – General Molenda told PAP.
One of the main topics discussed during the conference was cooperation between the military and civilian institutions in the field of cybersecurity – including, for example, the issue of taking care of the cyber protection of civilian critical infrastructure in individual EU countries.
As General Molenda explained, it is primarily about cooperation with entities managing key infrastructure – both state and private – used by the military and including them under the protective umbrella in cyberspace that the army provides.
An example is the railway infrastructure, important for logistics and the transfer of military equipment, or ICT networks used on a daily basis by civilian institutions. “Railways, transport systems, logistics, the energy sector and fuel transmission infrastructure are just some of the areas of civilian infrastructure that play an important role in ensuring the continuity of military operations. Military planning assumes uninterrupted access to these resources, especially in the initial phase of the operation. At the same time, it should be taken into account that the enemy will seek to disrupt them, treating them as a potential tool for influencing the operational capabilities of the armed forces,” he stressed.
He noted that it is also important to develop common, effective procedures and mechanisms of cooperation between civilian and military institutions responsible for security in cyberspace. The idea is to achieve such harmonization of mechanisms for responding to cross-border threats in cyberspace as to reduce the response time to an incident as much as possible. Ultimately– physical borders between countries are not to be an obstacle to mutual assistance.
Author. Cyberspace Defense Forces (@CyberWojska)/X
“The defense of European cyberspace requires not only technological, but above all institutional interoperability,” said Gen. Molenda. “Developing coherent and implementableThe development of cooperation mechanisms between Member States and between the civilian and military sectors is the basis of our collective digital resilience,” he noted in the context of the European harmonization of procedures.
During the conference, the issue of “military mobility” was also discussed. The aim is to develop supranational legal regulations and procedures to standardize the logistical processes of military forces and assets moving between EU countries. As General Molenda pointed out, the Polish perspective and experience are of particular value, as many of these issues have already been tested in connection with the operation of a logistics hub for support for Ukraine in the country.
“In the area of the so-called military mobility, all available infrastructure resources necessary to ensure operational efficiency have been engaged. Simultaneously Our adversaries have started actions against critical infrastructure. That is why we remain active in this area – to support its operators by providing them with the knowledge and tools they need to effectively protect these assets in advance. The effectiveness of activities today depends on the precise synchronization of efforts in the physical and digital domains,” said the general.
The Polish Cyberspace Defense Forces Component Command (DKWOC) was formally established in 2022, when it was included in the provisions of the Homeland Defense Act adopted at that time. The decision to establish the new component was a consequence of, m.in the arrangements made at the NATO summit in Warsaw in 2016, where it was stated that it was the duty of allies to build capabilities to defend cyberspace, and that the Cyberspace should be considered another domain of possible military action – the same as land, sea or airspace.
The Territorial Defence Forces currently have over 6.5 thousand soldiers and employees serving in the Cyberspace Defence Forces Component Command in Legionowo and in 13 subordinate units, including six Regional IT Centres, which provide ICT support to all military units in Poland.