[…] While cybercrimes are no small problem, cyberwars occur at the international level, where the scale of damage inflicted is similar to a conventional military attack. In the evolving and complex threat environment, states and non-state actors can use cyber-attacks in the context of military operations against their opponents. Cyberwarfare serves as an example of the use of new technologies within the complex and multidimensional scope of hybrid warfare. […]
States are not the only target; international organizations have also been victims of cyber-attacks. The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), for example, reported in 2016 that they experience over 500 cyber-attacks every month. In response to that, NATO, in virtue of Article 3 of the Washington Treaty, adopted the Cyber Defense Pledge at the Warsaw Summit of 2016 to strengthen the national networks and infrastructures of its members. Brussels also recognized cyberspace as the fifth operational domain, in addition to air, sea, land, and space, falling under the purview of the alliance’s deterrence policy. Henceforth, major cyber-attacks could trigger Article 5 for collective defence, but the challenge in such a scenario would be to determine the origins of hypothetical attacks. As cyber-attacks defy state borders, NATO encourages cooperation with states, organizations and the private sector to enhance international security. Western democracies and technologically advanced states, by being interconnected, are most vulnerable to cyber-attacks, and are thereby required to develop a more robust approach to cyber deterrence. Russia, China, Iran and North Korea will remain to pose hybrid challenges to the West. Läs artikel