NATO Chief: Cyber Can Trigger Article 5

By Paul McLeary 2:43 p.m. EDT March 25, 2015

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a press conference at the Spanish Interior Ministry headquarters in Madrid on March 12, 2014.(Photo: DANI POZO/AFP/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON NATO leaders on Wednesday reiterated the alliance's stance on treating cyber attacks against a member as an Article 5 issue, which would potentially draw a military response from the entire alliance.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told a key alliance planning summit on Wednesday morning that "cyber is now a central part of virtually all crisis and conflicts, NATO has made clear that cyber attacks can potentially trigger an Article 5 response."

Just last week, Stoltenberg engaged in a contentious back and forth with Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of Russia's Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, at an event in Brussels when the Russian representative asked if NATO would bomb countries it suspects have been involved in cyber attacks.

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"We will do what's necessary to do to protect all allies," Stoltenberg replied. "But I'm not going to tell you exactly how I'm going to do that ... that's the main message."

On Wednesday, much of the NATO chief's comments revolved around the topic of hybrid war, which Stoltenberg said combines the power of a state with unconventional means such as cyber and information operations, and disguised military operations, much like the activities of Russia in Crimea and Ukraine over the past year.

He said NATO must resist this "Russian model" and "sharpen our early warning and situational awareness so we know when an attack is an attack. Hybrid warfare seeks to exploit any weakness."

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NATO Chief: Cyber Can Trigger Article 5