On 10/26, Ellen Nakashima wrote a great article for The Washington Post on the ambiguity behind cyberwar. Noting DefSec Panetta’s recent comments, Nakashima asked a series of questions: “[W]hat does an act of war look like in cyberspace?” How will the U.S. respond? What will the U.S. do if a cyberattack falls short of that threshold? What will the U.S. do if several U.S. companies face a Shamoon-like attack? When should the U.S. government protect the private sector from cyberattack? And finally, when is a cyberattack an armed attack under international law?
These questions aren’t new, but the debate has taken on new dimensions in light of DefSec Panetta’s speech. Nakashima quoted a senior defense official who explained that the U.S. will not “give a road map to the enemy to know when something is an attack on the nation and when it is not.” These questions may remain unanswered.
Great article. Again, nothing new, but a excellent summary of the legal ambiguities inherent to cyberwar and cyberattack.
You can find the rest of The Washington Post article here.
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