US cyber ambassador: NATO must extend ‘deterrence into the … – The Record by Recorded Future

San Francisco The U.S. State Departments top cybersecurity official said Thursday that countries are taking advantage of the differing views among NATO members on whether cyberattacks could trigger a collective military response.

Since the onset of Russias invasion of Ukraine last year, debate has raged about whether a damaging cyberattack could trigger Article 5 the foundational principle of NATO that an attack on any member would necessitate a military response from all.

Article 5 has only been triggered once after the 9/11 terrorist attacks but has been a topic of interest for several European countries facing a barrage of crippling cyberattacks since the start of Russias invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

At the RSA Conference this week, U.S. Ambassador at Large for Cyberspace & Digital Policy Nathaniel Fick said that NATOs adversaries seek to do things to us using digital means that they would never do to us using kinetic means because of the clarity of the response policies.

Nathalie Jaarsma, the Netherlands ambassador at-large for security policy and cyber, said during the same panel that in general, cyberattacks do fall below the threshold for triggering Article 5. But she mentioned that some countries have pushed for an accumulation of cyberattacks to be factored into Article 5 considerations.

Its really a case-by-case situation and about the impact. [We need] to have internal discussions about what we do see as the thresholds for our potential range, she said.

Fick said it would be to NATOs collective advantage to clarify and enforce how they respond to cyber incidents.

He echoed Jaarsmas comments in acknowledging that most cyberattacks fall far below the threshold for military response. But he wondered whether there is a middle between the nuisance attacks and serious incidents involving critical infrastructure or loss of life.

Fick referenced the ransomware attack allegedly launched by Iran against Albania as a situation that might live in that middle. Albanias status as a NATO member prompted the U.S. to offer significant financial and technical help, but Fick questioned whether tougher deterrence efforts were needed.

I think the implicit assumption is that we need to extend the full power of deterrence into the digital world, using not only cyber means but every ounce of economic, informational and diplomatic means necessary, he said.

Mandiant CEO Kevin Mandia noted that despite the fears referenced by NATO members, it appeared that Russia understands the level of cyberattack that would trigger Article 5.

While Ukraine has faced several damaging cyberattacks, many experts believe Russia has largely held back from causing the kind of digital destruction that was expected.

I think there is some evidence out of Russia in 2022 that maybe they were also trying to figure out what is the skirmish level below the threshold of Article 5 in cyber because we didnt see the new and novel innovation that they probably do have in Ukraine, he said.

It stretches credulity to think they're not sitting on at least one to five zero days right now. Theyre not using it so maybe they are saying were not sure about the collateral damage if we do these things.

Fick noted that after Russias devastating attack on satellite provider Viasat, several European countries on the eastern flank wanted a more assertive response.

But he said the U.S. was not in a hurry to invoke Article 5 and in the end, the bedrock of NATO is that the alliance speaks with one voice.

Jonathan Greig is a Breaking News Reporter at Recorded Future News. Jonathan has worked across the globe as a journalist since 2014. Before moving back to New York City, he worked for news outlets in South Africa, Jordan and Cambodia. He previously covered cybersecurity at ZDNet and TechRepublic.

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US cyber ambassador: NATO must extend 'deterrence into the ... - The Record by Recorded Future