Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Estonia

07/23/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/23/2021 04:02

Nokia’s 5G standalone Network to enhance Estonian Cyber Range capability

As part of the Estonian Ministry of Defence initiated cyber defence project Estonian company Thinnect OÜ has selected Nokia Digital Automation Cloud 5G standalone solution to enhance Estonian Cyber Range capability on threats related to emerging technologies.

Andri Rebane, Director of Cyber Policy Department at the Estonian Ministry of Defence, stated that not only does the 5G extension to the Cyber Range enable to provide improved cyber defence exercises, but it also offers better research and development facility to keep up with the increasing need for secure innovative solutions for defence purposes.

'5G technologies will be adopted by military both in private as well as in public settings and this gives us an opportunity to develop new solutions that will improve our decision-making process. To test, validate and experiment with these solutions, a dedicated 5G network is needed where things can be broken during the development process to make sure the solutions are secure and can be trusted,' said Rebane.

Jurgo Preden, CEO of Thinnect, says that using the Nokia Digital Automation Cloud, they can create and manage a secure cellular Network to support Estonia in its cyber security trainings.

'Including 5G component to the Cyber Range, the Estonian Ministry of Defence will be able to take advantage of the latest capabilities to be better prepared for cyber threats,' said Preden.

Offered as a service, the Nokia's 5G network solution contributes to the project by simulating both physical and virtual cyber-attacks and develop tools to protect critical infrastructure systems.

Stephan Litjens, Vice President, Enterprise Solutions, Nokia Cloud and Networking Services said that Nokia is committed to using 4G and 5G private wireless technologies to support the development of secure critical infrastructure that will allow experts to establish security best practices and capabilities. 'We are pleased to leverage the Nokia DAC and Nokia Industrial user equipment for this important program in Estonia,' Stephan Litjens added.

The 5G critical infrastructure component for Estonian Cyber Range will be operated by Foundation CR14 and delivered by Thinnect. The Project's consortium additionally comprises of the University of Tartu, Cybexer Technologies, NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence, and Elisa Estonia. The Estonian Research Council through the RITA program funds the research.

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