U.S. Ambassador Lynda Blanchard met with Defense Minister Matej Tonin to discuss progress made on Slovenia’s state-of-the-art Cyber Range, made possible by almost 12.7 million Euro in assistance provided by the U.S European Command through the Embassy’s Office of Defense Cooperation.
The regional Cyber Range is a virtual environment that will be used by the MoD as a platform to train and develop cybersecurity experts and will also be used for cyber research and development by universities and academic organizations, private research institutions, and other government entities. The facility will enhance Slovenia’s cyber defence framework and ability to train future cybersecurity experts in the region, increasing its ability to detect, reduce, and respond to cyberattacks.
“I am incredibly pleased that the U.S. Embassy is supporting Slovenia’s holistic and comprehensive approach in promoting a secure and reliable information and communications infrastructure that has now become essential in all aspects of our daily lives” noted Ambassador Blanchard. »For me, this is yet another symbol of the tremendous progress we have made recently on advancing mutual priorities with our close partners in the Ministry of Defense” noted Ambassador Blanchard.
This latest U.S.-Slovenian bilateral defense cooperation initiative will also effectively counter malign network cyberattacks to ensure secure communication within the NATO Alliance and the European Union.
Cyber ranges are interactive, simulated representations of local networks that provide a safe, legal environment to gain hands-on cyber skills in a secure environment. Slovenia’s Cyber Range is scheduled for completion next year and will include a combination of actual hardware and virtual components to provide realistic performance assessments, real-time feedback, and the capability for teams to work together to solve complex cybersecurity challenges.
The Cyber Range is one of several U.S. Embassy initiatives to increase dialogue and the exchange of expertise between American cybersecurity leaders and their Slovenian counterparts in government, academia, business, and civil society.
