HELSINKI: Denmark by establishing Offensive Cyber Warfare (OCW) unit to repel assaults and launch counter strikes, has responded to a series of cyber attacks against private and state defense organizations.
The task of establishing and operating the OCW will fall to the Danish Defense Intelligence Service (DDIS). The DDIS operates as a department of the MoD and is Denmark’s chief agency for military and foreign intelligence.
Denmark’s current cyberwarfare apparatus is primarily equipped to protect military computer systems from hacking and disruption. The infrastructure does not have a specific focus on developing offensive responses against malefactors bent on infiltrating defense or industrial IT platforms.
The DDC’s recommendation was followed in 2013 by the Danish government’s National Plan for Cyber Security. This included a proposal to add a more dynamic offensive capability to the existing defensive based approach to cyber.
The $74 million capital provision has been added to the Defense Ministry’s budget in 2015 to 2017 to cover the OCW’s formation and operational costs.
Further the $74 million allocation is being arranged by the Ministry of Finance. Apart from the OCW’s initial set-up and equipment costs, around 50 per cent of the capital sum will go to developing advanced offensive cyberwarfare technologies, skills and counter strike weaponry. Some of this niche work will be carried out in collaboration with Danish universities and defense research organizations.
