In case of cyber attack: NATO members ready to pledge mutual defense

The United States and the other 27 members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization plan to aid the defense of any other NATO country in the event of a major cyber attack, according to an agreement that will be ratified this week at a major alliance meeting.

On Thursday, NATO members will meet with 40 partner countries at a major summit in Wales, United Kingdom, to discuss the future security of the region. While the conflict in eastern Ukraine will dominate the meeting, the alliance will also agree to work together to defend its communications network and aid each other against major cyber attacks.

The policy, endorsed by NATO ministers in June, will task NATO countries with sharing information on cyber threats, lending expertise to harden member nations' communications and information systems (CIS), and working with industry partners to improve NATO's ability to respond to cyber attacks.

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