NBAC (National security analytical centre)

The National Security and Analytical Centre (NBAC) was established on 1 January 2013 upon the project approved by the Government of the Slovak Republic in the Resolution 75 on 7 March 2012. The Slovak Information Service initiated and started to work on the project in the first half of 2011 and has been managing it since. NBAC as a part of the SIS organisation structure is a result of the tasks defined in the 2011 - 2015 National Action Plan for Counter-terrorism in the Slovak Republic. The activities of NBAC are regulated by the Code of Practice (CoP). The original CoP was approved by the Government of the Slovak Republic in Resolution 700 of 12 December 2012. The Addendum of the Code of Practice was approved by the Government of the Slovak Republic in Resolution 337 of 26 June 2013. A new CoP based on the experience gained throughout the years was approved by the Government of the Slovak Republic in Resolution 229 of 8 June 2016.NBAC presents a new format of an interdepartmental organisational structure that Slovakia had no previous experience with. Since NBAC associates several entities at the national level responsible for counter-terrorism and critical security threats to the Slovak Republic, its citizens and interests, the project arrangements were quite comprehensive.
NBAC is defined as SIS analytical, communication and cooperation country-wide centre that identifies security threats. Major NBAC tasks include assessing security incidents reported by the Slovak state authorities analytically and comprehensively, monitoring security situation in Slovakia from open sources and providing analytical products on security threats in Slovakia to the defined recipients.

Major NBAC tasks include assessing security incidents reported by the Slovak state authorities analytically and comprehensively, monitoring security situation in Slovakia from open sources and providing analytical products on security threats in Slovakia to the defined recipients.

The Centre, as requested by several state bodies, continued to organize thematic lectures for employees of state bodies and introduced tasks and operation of the Centre and raised awareness about interdepartmental cooperation of state bodies in the Slovak Republic. It continues in increasing staffing of the centre (not affecting the budget of the service).

Similar organizations exist through Europe.

Slovak information service has been managing NBAC since its beginning in 2013 and writes report about its activities in terms of the Slovak security ever since.

NBAC is mandated to communicate with similar partner organisations and centres abroad. NBAC represents the state at the multilateral platform MADRID GROUP. The centre has also established bilateral co-operation with partner centres from the EU and NATO member states.
Actors involved include Representatives of the Slovak Information Service, Military Intelligence, Police Corps, Criminal Authority of Financial Administration, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, National Security Authority as well as the Government Office of the Slovak Republic.

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National Security Analytical Centre. Assesed September 12, 2017. http://www.sis.gov.sk/about-us/nsac.html

http://www.sis.gov.sk/for-you/sis-annual-report.html

NBAC is a unique project as it groups members of several state bodies at one workplace. Despite the fact the project is financially and technically demanding (as well as in terms of staff), owing to support of all participating entities the original idea was successfully transformed into the existing centre. The severity and diversity of notifications the centre dealt with in its pilot phase showed the centre has a potential to become a significant element within the security system of the Slovak Republic. Slovak state bodies participating at the work of the centre are free to manage their databases autonomously; there is no need to share individual knowledge funds. The final products elaborated by NBAC are provided to all participating subjects.

Due to the developments in the security field recorded in the previous years (especially abroad) that could have potentially affect the state and its citizens, it is necessary to mention the increased level of interdepartmental cooperation within the centre in terms of both quantity and quality (as the amount of information collected under interdepartmental cooperation shows). This information exchange also significantly contributed to better and speedier factual view on potential impacts of the identified threats on the Slovak Republic as well as cooperation between state bodies of the Slovak Republic in relation to assessing security risks of various entities in the scope of their authority. The recorded developments in the field of information exchange positively affect systematic building of the joint information fund of the Centre that creates favourable grounds for further efficient use of the Centre as one of the effective tools for assessing terrorist and other security threats in the future.

The central analytical centre model creates space for direct and flexible communication between NBAC and the entities involved. It accelerates collection of any available knowledge of potential threats and concentrates it in a single point. It also enables more comprehensive analytical assessment of potential threats and prompt distribution of its products to relevant external recipients responsible for prevention of illegal activities or threats.

Through own analytical work, the Centre processed and forwarded several security and analytical assessments and analytical overviews on potential security risks. Following the Decision of the Minister of Interior of the Slovak Republic no. 2 regarding the alert level of terrorist threat of 22 March 2016 that increased the alert level to (2) (moderate threat), the Centre processed and forwarded to selected customers in the Slovak Republic recommendations for adoption of preventive measures that may have contributed to the mitigation of the risk affecting standard operation of nuclear facilities in the Slovak Republic.
The simultaneous terrorist attacks in Brussels/Belgium of 22 March 2016, terrorist attack at the Atatürk airport in Istanbul/Turkey of 28 June 2016, attacks in Nice/France of 14 July 2016, Munich/Germany of 22 July 2016 and at the Christmas market in Berlin/Germany of 19 December 2016 tested the readiness of the Centre from analytical, communication and cooperation points of view as well as its ability to coordinate activities of state bodies relating to procedures and adequate measures to maintain security of the state and its citizens and respond to foreign partners’ requests for information. To secure continuous international information exchange regarding development of security threats, the Centre operated in special (24/7) regime for 94 days – besides the aforementioned incidents, also during the attempted coup in Turkey of 15 July 2016, informal meeting of the EU heads of state or government in Bratislava of 16 September 2016, and a potential terrorist threat targeting Slovak interests abroad at the end of 2016. While in 24/7 operation, the Centre immediately reflected to the request to call an operational meeting of the members of the NBAC Council to coordinate activities of state bodies and discuss joint steps of adequate reaction to the threats.

The Centre and the professional expertise of individual departments were also utilised for lecturing purposes, aiming at employees of other state bodies. The lectures focused on the areas of cyber-threats in connection with SK PRES, development of the security situation in Syria in connection with the UNTSO peace-keeping mission, Muslim community in the Slovak Republic, paramilitary armed forces in Ukraine, status of Sitcen in the security structure of the Slovak Republic, use of biometric data for intelligence purposes and as a potential threat to aviation in the country. Centre, as requested by several state bodies, continues to organise thematic lectures for employees of state bodies and introduced tasks and operation of the Centre. As it was necessary to actively react to the constantly changing security situation, and increasing demands and to further standardise activities of the Centre, the Slovak Information Service continued to increase staffing of the Centre.

NBAC presents a new format of an interdepartmental organisational structure that Slovakia had no previous experience with. Since NBAC associates several entities at the national level responsible for counter-terrorism and critical security threats to the Slovak Republic, its citizens and interests, the project arrangements were quite comprehensive.
At the beginning of its operation the centre focused on processing notifications on security incidents from partners and preparing and testing processing of its products. Intensive talks between NBAC and the Slovak state bodies that, in accordance with the NBAC Code of Practice, would participate at centre’s operations and conditions of mutual cooperation within the centre. Besides the original partners – the Police Force, the Military Intelligence (the Military Intelligence Service, the Military Defence Intelligence), the General Staff of the Defence Forces of the Slovak Republic, the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, the Criminal Authority of Financial Administration and the Slovak Information Service, the National Security Authority was also interested in actively participating. The pilot phase also focused on establishing cooperation with other state bodies that are involved in maintaining security of the country in the scope of their activity or have professional capacity to asses specific security risks and threats – this resulted in the cooperation with the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic (special unit for computer incidents – CSIRT.SK), the Ministry of Transport, Construction and Regional Development of the Slovak Republic, the Nuclear Regulatory Authority of the Slovak Republic, the Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic, the Mining Authority, the State Navigation Administration (under the Transport Authority since 1 January 2014), the Aviation Authority (under the Transport Authority since 1 January 2014), the Air Navigation Services Provider of the Slovak Republic or the State Veterinary and Food Administration of the Slovak Republic.