IBM announced that it has entered into an agreement with the NATO Communications and Information Agency to bolster NATO’s cybersecurity defences by enhancing security oversight and managing assets across all NATO networks.

Per the agreement, IBM’s Cybersecurity Services will provide a customized Asset, Configuration, Patching and Vulnerability Management Service to NATO starting January 2024. The service is designed through NATO’s updated procurement process involving regular workshops and close industry engagement and was chosen due to IBM’s global security expertise and experience in securing complex and widespread infrastructures.

IBM Consulting will develop a personalized solution to provide a comprehensive view of NATO’s security status. This involves deploying data analysis, asset discovery tools, integrations, and security experts to establish a unified platform presenting accurate information about assets, configurations, vulnerabilities, and patches throughout NATO’s systems.

The initiative aims to enhance NATO’s awareness of cyber risks and enable efficient management of potential issues across its network. The service will serve as an interface for cybersecurity functions within NATO to access and query asset and configuration data.

Apart from this, the service will lay the groundwork for an enterprise framework supporting various critical functional areas like IT service management, finance, and auditing. This framework will adopt a federated approach by leveraging existing NATO assets, configuration, and patching solutions.