Tripwire for real war? Cyber’s fuzzy rules of engagement

The sign outside the National Security Administration (NSA) campus where US Cyber Command is located in Fort Meade, Maryland. Tensions are soaring over Ukraine with Western officials warning about the danger of Russia launching major cyberattacks against its Nato allies. — AP

BOSTON: US President Joe Biden couldn’t have been more blunt about the risks of cyberattacks spinning out of control. “If we end up in a war, a real shooting war with a major power, it’s going to be as a consequence of a cyber breach of great consequence,” he told his intelligence brain trust in July.

Now tensions are soaring over Ukraine with Western officials warning about the danger of Russia launching damaging cyberattacks against Ukraine’s NATO allies. While no one is suggesting that could lead to a full-blown war between nuclear-armed rivals, the risk of escalation is serious.