NATO defence ministers to discuss cyber security

Defence ministers from 28 NATO countries will meet Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss how to handle the growing cyber security threats that could top the military alliance's agenda in the near future.

"The challenge evolves all the time - probably more exponentially than any other type of threat that we face at the moment," reported Xinhua citing a senior NATO official requesting anonymity.

"Therefore, we have to make certain that NATO keeps pace with that evolving threat," he said, adding 23 out of 28 NATO countries have signed up to exchange information and assistance in the event of cyber attacks.

NATO Secretary General Ander Fogh Rasmussen said earlier this year that the alliance's computer systems were under "regular" attacks, but "so far we have successfully protected our systems".