Today’s security environment is increasingly complex and unpredictable, with cyber attacks and hybrid warfare blurring the lines between conventional and unconventional forms of conflict, threats to energy security such as climate change and natural disasters, and disruptive technologies like AI and quantum computing. The challenge of adapting and responding to these threats calls for cooperation and novel ways of thinking. This book presents 11 edited contributions from the NATO Advanced Training Course (ATC) Strengthening SEE Resilient Cyber Defense against Hybrid Threats (STRENGTH), held as an online event from 26 September – 02 October 2021. The ATC brought together more than 60 military and civilian expert participants with 19 renowned professors, experts and practitioners from 14 NATO Member and Partner countries as speakers and lecturers. The ATC aimed to raise awareness about the Alliance and the South Eastern Europe (SEE) evolving complex-threat environment and establish the foundation for a long-term multidisciplinary collaboration among defense and security experts and academia, with the event serving as a first step in the creation of a SEE Network of defense-security and academic experts which can work across borders, linking state of the art of research and practice to build resilience against hybrid warfare capabilities. Participants learned how state and non-state actors acquire hybrid threats via cyberspace to achieve their strategic ends, and took part in working groups, moderated by invited speakers/lecturers, engaging in the productive discussion of questions related to the course topic. The event concluded with briefings presenting relevant case studies and lessons learned.

Hybrid threats represent one of the rising challenges to the safe and effective management of digital systems worldwide. The deliberate misuse or disruption of digital technologies has wide-ranging implications for fields as diverse as medicine, social media, and homeland security. Despite growing concern about cyber threats within many government agencies and international organizations, few strategies for the effective avoidance and management of threats or the prevention of the disruption they can cause have so far emerged. This book presents multiple perspectives based upon a NATO Science for Peace and Security Programme Advanced Research Workshop on ‘Resilience and Hybrid Threats’ held in Pärnu, Estonia from 26-29 August 2018, and includes a mixture of workshop summary papers and invited perspectives from world experts. Topics include the development of strategies for the protection and recovery of systems affected by hybrid threats, and the benefits of those strategies under different disruption scenarios. The role of risk and resilience assessment pertaining to the information domain is a common focus across all perspectives. Offering an overview of resilience-based decision making through an approach that integrates the threats and dependencies related to infrastructural, informational, and social considerations, the book will be of interest to all those whose work involves the security of digital systems.

This book presents the implementation of novel concepts and solutions, which allows to enhance the cyber security of administrative and industrial systems and the resilience of economies and societies to cyber and hybrid threats. This goal can be achieved by rigorous information sharing, enhanced situational awareness, advanced protection of industrial processes and critical infrastructures, and proper account of the human factor, as well as by adequate methods and tools for analysis of big data, including data from social networks, to find best ways to counter hybrid influence. The implementation of these methods and tools is examined here as part of the process of digital transformation through incorporation of advanced information technologies, knowledge management, training and testing environments, and organizational networking. The book is of benefit to practitioners and researchers in the field of cyber security and protection against hybrid threats, as well as to policymakers and senior managers with responsibilities in information and knowledge management, security policies, and human resource management and training.

The notion of 'resilience' is gaining currency in European and transatlantic security policy discussions. The EU and NATO are each building the capacity of their member states to anticipate, preempt and resolve disruptive challenges to vital societal functions. The EU and NATO are also exploring ways to work more effectively together in this area. But is resilience enough to deal with disruptive threats in a deeply interconnected world? In this new study, authors and experts argue that while state-by-state approaches to resilience are important, they are likely to be insufficient in a world where few critical infrastructures are limited to national borders, and where robust resilience efforts by one country may mean little if its neighbor's systems are weak. They argue not only that resilience must be shared, it must be projected forward, and that traditional notions of territorial security must be supplemented with actions to address flow security - protecting critical links that bind societies to one another.

Much remains to be known about public utilities system organization, efficiency, management, legislation, practices, and solutions worldwide, as well as the implications for sustainable development in different countries. Thus, a better understanding of the different management practices in public utilities across different contexts is needed to assess their impact on efficiency and sustainability, especially in the changed climate conditions. Transformation and Efficiency Enhancement of Public Utilities Systems: Multidimensional Aspects and Perspectives considers the necessity to transform public utilities systems towards sustainability and efficiency. This publication investigates the performance management process of public utility systems and evaluates the efficiency of public utilities to propose potential improvements. The book encourages amenable authorities to create more efficient and effective management systems and improve their performance. Additionally, it provides the government with a systemic approach to public utilities system transformation and development. Covering key topics such as public hygiene, sustainability, and environmental protection, this premier reference source is ideal for government officials, policymakers, industry professionals, researchers, academicians, scholars, practitioners, instructors, and students.

Modern enterprises are facing growing cybersecurity issues due to the massive volume of security-related data they generate over time. AI systems can be developed to resolve a range of these issues with comparative ease. This new book describes the various types of cybersecurity problems faced by businesses and how advanced AI algorithms and models can help eliminate them. With chapters from industry and security experts, this volume discribes the various types of cybersecurity problems faced by businesses and how advanced AI algorithms and models can help elimintate them. With chapters from industry and security experts, this volume discusses the many new and emerging AI technologies and approaches that can be harnessed to combat cyberattacks, including big data analytics techniques, deep neural networks, cloud computer networks, convolutional neural networks, IoT edge devices, machine learning approaches, deep learning, blockchain technology, convolutional neural networks, and more. Some unique features of this book include: Detailed overview of various security analytics techniques and tools Comprehensive descriptions of the emerging and evolving aspects of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies Industry case studies for practical comprehension and application This book, Leveraging the Artificial Intelligence Competencies for Next-Generation Cybersecurity Solutions, illustrates how AI is a futuristic and flexible technology that can be effectively used for tackling the growing menace of cybercriminals. It clearly demystifies the unique contributions of AI algorithms, models, frameworks, and libraries in nullifying the cyberattacks. The volume will be a valuable resource for research students, scholars, academic professors, business executives, security architects, and consultants in the IT industry.