NATO Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has warned that cyber attacks could lead to a military response from his allies.
Jens Stoltenberg told BBC Newsnight that a cyber attack “can be just as harmful and dangerous” as an armed attack and is “as serious as any other attack on a NATO ally”. The NATO chief said Article 5 of the IAEA treaty stipulated that an attack on one of its allies was an attack on all. “Sea or land,” Stoltenberg said. “If necessary, they will impose sanctions on those who harm us,” he said.
NATO’s commitment to the common defense of all member states was originally intended in response to armed attacks by the Soviet Union after World War II. But in recent years the alliance has expanded the definition of threat to include cyber-attacks, creating a new service on how to tackle the issue of cuber security.
NATO says cyber threats to member countries’ security are becoming more widespread, frequent and destructive. He also stressed that the Alliance must be prepared to defend its networks and operations from adversaries. Many member states have expressed concern about the increasingly aggressive behavior of Russia and China in cyberspace. The joint statement sees both countries as threats. Russia was described as “aggressive three times”, while China as ten. The NATO leader said China’s assertiveness posed systemic challenges for the international community based on the rules and areas related to the security of the alliance. The statement also called on China to abide by its global commitments and act responsibly in the international system.
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, said that China should be considered a “strategic thinking” for NATO, but stressed that the organization does not want to enter a new “cold war” with the country of Asia. For his part, Jake Sullivan, the US National Security Adviser, said NATO would increase its focus on China. In December, at least nine government agencies and many private companies came under cyber attacks.
In addition, last April, the US Department of Justice imposed sanctions on six Russian technology companies for aiding “government hackers” who carried out dangerous cyber attacks. The country’s Justice Ministry said the six companies had developed infrastructure and had all the tools to take all necessary action on behalf of Russia’s secret services.
BBC
.
