NATO chief says enemy might be 'everywhere' in cyberspace

NATO must be ready to address the security threats posed by potential enemies in cyberspace, the secretary general of the western military alliance, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said Thursday.

"Several actors on the international scene are quite interested in what is going on in NATO, and they also use cyberspace to achieve their goals," Rasmussen told reporters at a crisis management seminar in Helsinki.

While the territorial defence of its 28 member states and their populations remained NATO's core function, it was not enough to "line up soldiers and tanks and military equipment along the borders," Rasmussen said.

We "really have to address the threat at its roots, and it might be in cyber space," he said, adding that an "enemy might appear everywhere in cyberspace".

NATO is currently updating its Strategic Concept to reflect changes in the emphasis of global security challenges -- including terrorism, energy supplies and climate change -- since the last revision in 1999.

AFP