BRUSSELS, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Defense ministers from 28 NATO countries will meet on Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss how to tackle the growing cyber security threats, which could top the military alliance's agenda in the near future.
"The challenge evolves all the time - probably more exponentially than any other type of threat that we face at the moment," a senior NATO official said on condition of anonymity.
"Therefore we have to make certain that NATO keeps pace with that evolving threat," he said, adding 23 out of 28 NATO countries have signed up to exchange information and assistance in the event of cyber attacks.
NATO Secretary General Ander Fogh Rasmussen said earlier this year that the alliance's computer systems are under "regular" attacks, but "so far we have successfully protected our systems."
"We have to take it seriously and consider how we can strengthen our cyber defense...We need the political push," he said.
In 2007, NATO member Estonia's Internet network came under massive attacks, which prompted the alliance to set up a cyber defense centre in Tallin, the small Baltic country's capital. In 2011, the alliance approved a revised cyber defense policy and an action plan to strengthen cyber defense.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, who will be attending his first NATO meeting since taking office, has made the issue one of his country's defense priorities.
The Pentagon chief said on Saturday in Singapore that cyber security threats are a threat to not only the United States, but also other countries including China. "They are threats to China. They are threats to every country. We share those common interests," he said.
The NATO defense ministers will also discuss Afghanistan, where NATO and its allies are projected to withdraw all combat troops by the end of 2014.
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