European Defence Agency-led MICNET network of cyber defence teams starts with 18 EU countries

Representatives from 18 European Union Member States held the first meeting of the new Military Computer Emergency Response Team Operational Network (MICNET) on 9 February, following an agreement among Ministers of Defence in 2022. The establishment of this network of national response teams, individually known as milCERTs, is a substantial step towards enhancing the level of cooperation in the cyber domain at the EU level, at a time when computer networks are increasingly contested and the number of cyber-attacks against the EU continues to grow.

Cyberattacks have increased exponentially in the past few years, having serious political, financial, and economic consequences across Europe and beyond. The new programme, MICNET (Military Computer Emergency Response Team Operational Network), will be managed by the European Defence Agency (EDA) and is the first outcome of the new Joint Communication on the EU Policy on Cyber Defence

New method, new training

Also on 9 February 2023, EDA hosted in Brussels the launch of two other cyber initiatives: the milCERT Interoperability Conference 2023 (MIC2023) and the Cyber Defence Requirement Engineering project applied to the milCERT operational Network (CyDRE4MICNET).

Since 2020, EDA has been developing a framework known as Cyber Defence Requirements Engineering (CyDRE) to provide guidelines for cyber security information, and to establish a system-wide engineering method for all cyber defence projects and activities in EDA. These can also be shared and used by Member States. It has already been used in maritime surveillance.

With the CyDRE4MICNET project, EDA proposes training Member States representatives on the system’s engineering methodology and using CyDRE along with the management of the new MICNET programme.

EDA supports its 26 Member States in improving their defence capabilities through European cooperation. Acting as an enabler and facilitator for Ministries of Defence willing to engage in collaborative capability projects, the Agency has become the hub for European defence cooperation with expertise and networks allowing it to the whole spectrum of defence capabilities. Member States use EDA as an intergovernmental expert platform where their collaborative projects are supported, facilitated, and implemented.