New NATO CCDCOE director takes office in Tallinn
Doctor Mart Noorma has formally taken up his new post of Director of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE), based in Tallinn.
Dr Noorma took up his post following a formal, change-of-command ceremony held at Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) headquarters in Tallinn, where outgoing director, Brig. Gen. Jaak Tarien, handed over.
Noorma's term is for three years, and Ministry of Defense Undersecretary for Defense Planning Tiina Uudeberg psaid of his appointment that: The past two years have been very challenging for the CCDCOE as well. Despite Covid restrictions and other challenges along the way, you have succeeded in organizing your flagship cyber exercises and conferences both online and in-person," noting that this year's annual CyCon conference was a sell-out and brought the highest-ranking generals and experts from all around the world, from a total of 50 countries, to Tallinn.
Uudeberg also praised Jaak Tarien's stint as director, which he commenced in September 2018.
Christian-Marc Lifländer, Head of Cyber and Hybrid Policy at NATO said: "Looking at what this Centre, and this team in particular, has achieved I can confidently say that you have set the standard for excellence on cyber."
Noorma's resume includes active engagement in innovation and novel technology development at NATO, EU and international level, while he has been a board member of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Space Advisory Board and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Autonomous Weapon Systems Expert Advisory Committee.
Monday's ceremony also saw the traditional planting of an oak tree (see cover image), jointly by incoming and outgoing directors.
The CCDCOE is a NATO-accredited knowledge hub offering a unique interdisciplinary approach to the most relevant issues in cyber defense, spearheaded by international experts from 35 countries and from the military, government, academia and industrial spheres. Around 80 people work at the headquarters.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte