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of ISIS/DAESH that the Alliance became aware of this and started to work on the development of an Action Plan against Terrorism, adopted in May 2017. Where the fight against terrorism is concerned, NATO has always approa- ched its contribution as a complementary effort to the tasks and remits of other international organizations competent in this regard, and complying with International Law and the United Nations Charter, taking as a starting point that the Allies maintain their own full competencies and responsibilities in the fight against terrorism. Spain considers that coo- perating with the Euro- pean Union and other international organizations, such as the United Na- tions or the African Union, is essential for our secu- rity, and that doing so, especially with our strategic neighbours in order to project stability, is the best guarantee for our own security. Also regarding the terrorist threat, reference should be made to the threats emanating from the South following the proclamation of the Islamic Caliphate in 2014. NATO has adapted to this new threat by resorting to two complementary concepts: deterrence and defence while projecting stability and, closely connected to the latter, the fight against terrorism. The fact that the Brussels Summit in July 2018 had a clear southern component, with the endorsement of the Package for the South, was a key step, and highlighted that NATO is an Atlantic and European organization but also a Mediterranean one. Thirdly, I would like to mention cyber threats. The frontline in a hypothetical conflict in the coming years will pass right through our own living rooms. Anonymous citizens may become our adversaries’ number one target. 5G technology, the Internet of Things, Artificial Inte- lligence and quantic com- puting will bring great benefits for humanity, but also great risks if we do not know how to face them. NATO is fully aware of this challenge and the threat it poses. Good proof of this is the fact that, following the acknowledgement at the Wales Summit in Sep- tember 2014 that a cy- berattack could lead to the invocation of Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, as well as the declaration of cyberspace as an independent Operational Domain —alongside land, sea and air— at the War- saw Summit held in July 2016, the Allies committed, at the latter, to substantially improve national cyber de- fence policies and capa- bilities, while at the same time enhancing resilience in this area, giving rise to the so-called Cyber Defence Pledge. In the coming years, we will get used to hearing NATO the term resilience. Resilience in cyberspace is the ability to resist cybernetic attacks and, when these cause harm, to withstand and recover rapidly without impact or with limited impact. Let us get used to this term. Fourthly, I would like to talk, briefly, about a question that is very much tied to the former: hybrid warfare. Undoubtedly, this is one of the most worrying aspects for NATO and for the military and civilian authorities of the Allies. Hybrid warfare combines conventional and non-conventional scopes, making use of cyberattacks and misinformation. As it affects, and in many cases is based on, new technologies, it is difficult to control and may have an impact on our daily lives. December 2019 Revista Española de Defensa 49


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