NATO C2COE Is Redefining Deterrence for the Cyber Age

In a time when threats materialize through fiber optic cables faster than kinetic maneuvers, NATO's Command and Control Centre of Excellence (C2COE) is fundamentally rethinking how its 32 member nations approach deterrence and defense with digital solutions.

Speaking at AFCEA International’s TechNet Transatlantic in Frankfurt, Germany, on December 4, C2COE Director Col. Mietta Groeneveld, from the Royal Netherlands Army, offered an interesting message to military leaders: the future of warfare is not about fighting smarter. It is about not fighting at all.

It is an unusual paradox, Groeneveld noted. Forces must maintain their kinetic capabilities, but really, the objectives lie in effective deterrence in a digital age.

And for that, military forces should first answer fundamental questions such as, "What am I trying to achieve?" or, "If you import a lot of data, what are you deciding?" she said.

For cyber professionals, these questions are particularly relevant, the colonel noted. Unlike traditional kinetic operations with clear battle lines, cyber operations inherently require constant clarity about objectives, rules of engagement and desired end states.

The C2COE’s recent conference illustrated the complexity of modern deterrence, Groeneveld shared.

The venue was the Port of Rotterdam. Maybe an unusual site for that kind of forum, but it was not an arbitrary choice. The port represents how cybersecurity intersects with national security, economic interests and traditional military concerns, she noted.

And in a way, the evolution of the port's security mirrors the broader challenges facing NATO allies.

“In 2001 when we had 9/11, they changed their risk from just looking at the ships to looking at the whole port,” Groeneveld explained.

After that, the threat landscape continued to expand. Nation-state actors, particularly from China, forced another reassessment. Then came the digital era.

“All the sudden we realized that in the Netherlands, we were one of the most electronized nations,” she said. “But if something goes wrong, even if it is very small, then it all stops, because everything is interrelated.”

This interdependency that creates massive vulnerabilities is a reality that every military cyber professional fully understands.

The solution, the colonel said, was not more security layers but a fundamental strategic shift in thinking. So, Rotterdam focused on resilience across three key areas: energy, digital infrastructure and supply chain security.

“If you do not have any energy, our port will immediately go down,” she stressed.

This resilience-first approach offers crucial lessons for military cyber operations. It means accepting that perfect security is impossible and that adversaries will sometimes succeed. Leaders need to ask themselves if their systems can continue functioning after an attack. Mission-critical functions must survive through network breaches.

“You need to be able to take some hits and realize where the real risk is, the higher level of risk,” Groeneveld stated.

Along with cyber, the battlefield is emerging past traditional warfare concepts, the colonel continued.

“We have now the long-range drones,” she said. “We have hypersonic vehicles. We’ve got cyber attacks, and we've got massive, mass attacks aimed at crippling our ability to defend ourselves,” she said.

This multidomain threat environment particularly impacts European nations who are accustomed to focusing on border defense. “Most European nations’ take on it is that we are back to collective defense, and that collective defense is being aimed at some kind of border,” the colonel said.

This is not the case. Homeland attacks combining cyber, information warfare and kinetic, require a broader awareness.

NATO’s second newest member, Finland, is demonstrating modern-day solutions. It’s command and control is integrated at a national level.

“When you look at Finland today, they actually have that mission environment, that mission network, and all of their national-level crisis people are on it, and they are able to share that data,” she shared.

Groeneveld emphasized that Finland’s solution is not just for temporary coordination during specific crises. It is more permanent.

“You need a permanent structure where you actually have the higher understanding together of what's going on,” she stated.

For cyber professionals, this vision breaks down the stovepipes between military networks, government systems, law enforcement and critical infrastructure operators.

“It is shared awareness that we are looking for, not just within the military, but for our new friends,” she suggested, "friends" meaning government agencies, academia, institutions and industry.

However, in this present day, especially within NATO, national solutions alone are insufficient.

“You need to do that multinationally,” Groeneveld stated.

TechNet Transatlantic is organized by AFCEA International in conjunction with the AFCEA Europe office. SIGNAL Media is the official media of AFCEA International.