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White House Report Says International Cyberattacks Could Lead to Military Action

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The title page of the White House's International Strategy for Cyberspace. Click on the image to read the full report.

US calls on its Nato partners to help resist cyber-attacks (guardian.co.uk):

The US has given the broadest hint yet that a cyber-attack on one Nato country will be regarded as an attack on all.

It is a potentially dangerous development, as cyber-attacks are increasingly common, with the Pentagon reporting millions of probes a day and actions by more than 100 foreign intelligence agencies.

In 2007, Estonia was almost crippled by a cyber-attack thought to originate in Russia. At the time, Estonia, a member of Nato, said it did not know if the alliance covered cyber-attacks, and the US, Britain and others danced round the issue.

The development is contained in a report by the Obama administration, International Strategy for Cyberspace, in which the US for the first time sets out a strategy for dealing with the expansion of the internet and what it describes as “arbitrary and malicious disruption”. It notes the growing threats by individual hackers, companies and hostile states, and offers broad proposals on how to tackle these.

It suggests that existing US treaties such as the one that set up Nato, which requires an attack on one member state to be treated as an attack on all, also cover cyber-attacks. But it stops short of saying so categorically. “All states possess an inherent right to self-defence, and we recognise that certain hostile acts conducted through cyberspace could compel actions under the commitments we have with our military treaty partners,” it says.

The thrust of the report is on how to reconcile the US championing of internet freedom in places such as China and Iran with protection of privacy in the US. The report is thin on how to achieve this.

The Obama administration sets out a broad objective: “The US will work internationally to promote an open, inter-operable, secure, and reliable information and communications infrastructure that supports international trade and commerce, strengthens international security, and fosters free expression and innovation.”

Hack attacks on US could spark military action (The Register):

The Obama Administration has put the world on notice that hack attacks directed against US assets could be met with military action.

“When warranted, the United States will respond to hostile acts in cyberspace as we would to any other threat to our country,” the White House said in a long-expected policy, titled The International Strategy for Cyberspace. “All states possess an inherent right to self-defense, and we recognize that certain hostile acts conducted through cyberspace could compel actions under the commitments we have with our military treaty partners.

“We reserve the right to use all necessary means – diplomatic, informational, military, and economic – as appropriate and consistent with applicable international law, in order to defend our Nation, our allies, our partners, and our interests.”

The administration went on to say military force would be used only after all other options have been exhausted.


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