National Cyber Defence Goals (Operational Priorities)

Cyber attacks have become a pervasive strategic threat, compelling NATO, the EU and their member states to elevate cyber defence as a core operational priority. “Cyberspace is contested at all times” and hostile actors continuously probe and penetrate allied networks, critical infrastructure and data systems in peacetime and crisis .

State-sponsored hackers and proxy groups seek to degrade vital services , steal sensitive data and disrupt military command-and-control, as demonstrated by Russia’s sustained cyber campaigns against Ukraine and the intensified malign cyber activities targeting NATO Allies since 2022 .

This analysis answers: Why have NATO, the EU and member states elevated cyber defence to a core operational priority in a permanently contested cyberspace? How do force posture, readiness models and command-and-control architecture defend allied networks, critical infrastructure and military C2? Which actors, capability families and industrial-base bottlenecks constrain national cyber defence goals? What roadmap and resilience measures are needed against state-sponsored hackers and proxy groups, as seen in Russia's campaigns?