Inauguration of Hungarian Defence Forces Cyber Academy

Szöveg: Ádám Draveczki-Ury | 2019. június 13. 12:00

“Countering the threats coming from cyber space requires up-to-date and high-standard training. For Hungarian service members such training will be provided by the Hungarian Defence Forces Cyber Academy,” was stated at the official opening of the institution in Szentendre on 13th June.

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The opening of the cyber academy was held in Szentendre on Thursday morning with the participation of Minister of Defence Tibor Benkő, State Secretary for Public Administration Pál Kádár, State Secretary for Human Relations Lajos Erdélyi, Lieutenant General Ferenc Korom, Commander of the Hungarian Defence Forces, his deputy Lieutenant General Gábor Böröndi, and other leaders of the military.

In his opening speech Defence Minister Benkő emphasised that the Hungarian Defence Forces must become a strong military, the determining force of the region, meeting the requirements of the era. The establishment of the academy is an important stage of this process since modernisation cannot be limited to the procurement of hardware – there is a permanent need for appropriately prepared soldiers too. He pointed out that the Russian – Ukrainian crisis brought the notion of hybrid warfare into the focus of public attention while operations in cyber space had already been widely discussed previously. In accordance with the decision approved at the NATO Summit in Warsaw the Alliance added cyber space to the land, air and naval theatres of military operations, and cyber operations were included into the operational procedures.

As the Minister of Defence said, the deceptive information, disruptive factors, and blocking systems applied within cyber space have their impacts not only on the execution of operations in hybrid warfare but also on the functioning of the state itself in peacetime. This is because nowadays everything – from medical services to transportation and to data storage and registration – works electronically via information technology. Preparation is necessary against such threats, which requires an appropriate education and training system.

Minister Benkő pointed out that the military must be able to conduct missions in cyber space outstandingly, exploiting the positive side to the maximum extent, and efficiently countering negative activities. All this requires regular and meticulous training as new challenges keep emerging in this field on a daily base. The defence minister highlighted that the hardware and software elements available at the cyber academy enable the proper preparation of the trainees. The minister added that long-term objectives include international civil and military training programs.

After the opening Brigadier General László Kovács, cyber defence inspector of the HDF Command gave a presentation on the structure of the academy, its mission, and the role in the Hungarian Defence Forces. During the opening, book Cyber Security and Cyber Strategy written by the Brigadier General was also presented. The cyber defence inspector took the visitors on a tour across the academy and showed them the infrastructure of the institution, then cyber security incidents were demonstrated to the visitors in the laboratory and outdoors.