"Cyber is certainly a new domain," Vseviov said in an interview published in the Defense News online news portal on Tuesday. "We are, I think, still scratching the surface of what it all means... So it will take us time to figure out how best to operate, how best to organise ourselves in the cyber domain."

According to the Estonian ministry official, however, what is certain is that the government alone cannot defend cyber society, and would require not only a whole-of-government but also a whole-of-society approach.

Vseviov emphasised that physical borders do not matter in the cyber field. "So national initiatives are important, but they are nothing if there is no international component to our efforts," he explained.

"We are certain that we are again on the right path, in both NATO and the European Union, but I think it will take time for us to fully comprehend the best way to operate in this new domain," he added.

"I think there is still a long way to go," Vseviov responded when asked how well, in his estimation, NATO allies are integrating in the cyber field. "Cyber tends to be a very sensitive area for obvious reasons, oftentimes also harnessed within intelligence organizations.  But we are making progress."

According to the secretary general, there is more sharing, information sharing in NATO as well as bilaterally between allies than there was a few years ago.

"So I think people are realizing that we need international cooperation; and without international cooperation, we simply cannot succeed in this new domain," he said.