US Praises Montenegro’s Partnership on Cyber Defence

The US embassy in Montenegro has paid tribute to an elite team of American cyber experts working in the Balkan country for a second year to generate fresh insights into adversarial cyber threats as elections loom in both the US and Montenegro in 2020.

"Both the United States and Montenegro benefit from our close partnership in cyber defense, which helps to protect our shared values and interests. Our continued work with Montenegro is a clear-cut example of how the free world works together to spread security," the new US Ambassador, Judy Reinke, was quoted as saying.

The US embassy also quoted Montenegrin Defence Minister Predrag Boskovic as saying: "Montenegro is among the first in Europe to face unconventional attacks on its democracy and freedom of choice. It is precisely in the face of new challenges with the United States that we seek a way, using their resources, to protect democracy in the Western Balkans from those who would keep this part of Europe in conflicts, setbacks, and economic decline."

During his visit to the capital Podgorica on October 4, US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo highlighted that the United States has worked to develop ways to counter the latest Russian malware, which now protect billions of devices worldwide.

After coming under a series of attacks in 2016 and 2017, Montenegro has joined the NATO cyber defence centre based in Estonia, to tighten up its cyber protection abilities.

The government has approved the signing the two memoranda on the establishment of operations and functional relationships with NATO's Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence, based in Tallinn.

Involvement in the cyber defence centre will enable Montenegro to build up its national capabilities in cyber security,...