MOSCOW, May 31 (UPI) -- A NATO official said the alliance would review cybersecurity initiatives when defense ministers meet next week in Brussels.
A diplomatic source was cited by Russian news agency RIA Novosti as saying NATO defense ministers will discuss ways to protect against cyberattacks next week in Brussels.
The revelation came Friday as NATO Deputy Secretary-General Alexander Vershbow met in Moscow with Russian Civil Defense Minister Vladimir Puchkov.
NATO said cyberattacks "pose a real threat." The alliance established a cyberdefense center in Estonia in 2008.
U.S. President Barack Obama was called on by lawmakers to press Chinese officials on cybersecurity when he meets next week with Chinese President Xi Jinping in California.
The Washington Post this week reported that China allegedly infiltrated U.S. computer networks to steal weapons designs. The Chinese government denies the allegations, saying it enjoys a healthy military relationship with the United States.
U.S. Sens. Carl Levin, D-Mich., Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., John McCain, R-Ariz., and Tom Coburn, R-Okla., in early May introduced the Deter Cyber Theft Act to combat the theft of computer data from U.S. networks.
Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Service Committee, said the government needs the tools to fight against outside agents trying to target U.S. businesses and innovation.
