NATO members, particularly those in Europe, have become increasingly concerned about a wave of suspected hybrid attacks from Russia in recent months.
These include cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, drone harassment, and more.
As part of the alleged interference, airports in countries including Denmark and Germany have been forced to close in recent weeks after sightings of unidentified drones, causing significant delays for passengers.
Moscow denies involvement in these incidents.
European officials say the aim is to disrupt daily life and damage European morale.
In an interview with Euronews, Manfred Boudreau-Daemer, NATO’s first chief information officer, speculated that such attacks are likely to become more frequent in the future.
After speaking about cyber resilience at the IT Directors Forum 2025, he told Euronews that the alliance is doing everything in its power to protect its 1 billion citizens in its 32 member states.
Euronews: NATO countries face an increase in hybrid attacks that combine cyberattacks, disinformation and drone jamming. How prepared is the Alliance to deal with this type of new hybrid warfare?
Manfred Boudreau-Demer: I think we are very well prepared and we are always striving for more. That’s exactly right. Wars of the future will no longer be violent wars on battlefields as we have historically known them. It also has a hybrid aspect. We are spending a lot of time, a lot of energy, and a lot of effort to prepare as best we can for this future hybrid war.
Euronews: Do recent drone incidents that disrupted European airports and airspace highlight gaps in NATO’s collective defense mechanism?
Boudreaux-Dehmer: I don’t think it’s a gap. I think what’s happening is that technology is evolving and we’re seeing it and now we’re seeing an increase in drone attacks and that’s something that we’re concerned about across the Alliance. And they caused a lot of confusion. Brussels Airport, Munich Airport and many other airports were affected.
That’s something we took immediate action. At the moment we are particularly focused on the threat of drones, and there were also discussions at EU level about how to build drone walls and how to do different things with drones.
I think going forward there will always be technology upgrades from the other side, but that’s something we have to deal with and we have to think and always be prepared and be better at what we do to protect our alliance.
Euronews: Should we have been more proactive?
Boudreaux-Dehmer: I don’t think that’s predictable. We need to respond to what happened. And when you look at the actions of the teams, not only from NATO, but from different countries, I’m really proud in terms of how quickly we responded.
Euronews: With advances in technology, conflicts seem to be becoming increasingly unpredictable. What message would you send to Europeans who are concerned that digital warfare is outpacing our ability to protect ourselves?
Mr. Boudreau-Demer: I don’t think so. As I said earlier, I think there is always an upward spiral. New technological capabilities will emerge, and they will be exploited not only by our enemies, but also by us.
It is our duty to be faster, use technology wisely, and be as prepared as possible to respond to the threats we face.
Euronews: What are some examples of cyber-attacks or invasion attempts that NATO has successfully detected or neutralized?
Boudreaux-Dehmer: As you can imagine, I can’t speak to specific attacks, but we have a very strong threat response team and we take a risk-based approach that takes into account the ever-changing threat landscape and that’s how we prepare.
A new cyber defense center integrated into NATO is also being built in Belgium. And this is one of the fundamental building blocks needed to increase preparedness against cyberattacks and other types of attacks.
Euronews: NATO’s Cooperative Cyber Defense Center of Excellence has reported an increase in the number of cyberattacks targeting maritime infrastructure in Europe, particularly in the Mediterranean. Given Greece’s strategic role in the region, how is the alliance working to protect Greek assets?
Boudreaux-Dehmer: We have a lot of interaction with Greece in the broader alliance, and Greece has taken steps to protect itself, and one of the characteristics about cyber is that it’s not geographically limited, so we’re also looking at that for the alliance as a whole. Cyberspace is a very fluid mechanism.
Euronews: Should a country like Greece adjust its defense strategy? If so, in what direction?
Mr. Boudreau-Demer: That is a question that Greece needs to answer. For the Alliance in general, what we’re thinking about more and more is these hybrid threats, this kind of blended attack where there’s a hybrid aspect to it, like what we’re seeing with drones, how do we deal with it from a cyber-optical angle, and how can we protect ourselves from that?
Euronews: Is it easy to coordinate all these different states and come up with a common strategy?
Boudreaux-Dehmer: What if it was easy? I think this is a big question. Because it’s the 32 Allies that come together to truly protect the safety of the billion people on the planet, the people who live in the Allies.
There are many geographical differences. Each ally has a specific profile in terms of geography, needs, and many other things. Therefore, it is much easier to harmonize different approaches between nations if we are united behind one goal: maintaining the security of the Union.
Euronews: We see that defense, and more specifically cyber defense, is also becoming a pillar of the economy. How are you working with the private sector to achieve your goal of strengthening defense?
Boudreaux-Dehmer: That’s a great question. Well, cybersecurity, cyber defense is a team sport. Therefore, serious participation by everyone is required at all times. Governments, NATO, academia as well as private companies are playing a major role. And consider that much of the technology we use is developed by private companies. This automatically facilitates the necessary interactions, but there is so much expertise in the private sector that it is essential for cybersecurity and cyber defense and for keeping us safe.
Euronews: Does this technology come primarily from Europe or from outside Europe? Do you perform surgery in Greece?
Boudreaux-Dehmer: I can’t speak for specific companies, but there is a spread between the two continents. The big American technology companies we work with are obviously well-known. But there are also a number of European companies that have risen and continue to rise as defense spending increases. There’s actually a lot of money going into the defense sector, which is a great achievement, and there’s also a lot of money going into the private sector to upgrade a lot of companies.