Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Nato: Cyber-attack on one nation is attack on
all
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO,
is an international alliance by European and North American countries that was
established in 1949. It was formed to secure peace in Europe and promote
cooperation among the members in the aftermath of WWII when threats were posed
by then the Soviet Union. There are 29 member states, including the USA, Canada,
Turkey (at least for now), and 26 European countries.
Though NATO is committed to peaceful
resolution of disputes, it could use their military power to undertake crisis-management
operations under the collective defense clause, Article 5, which states that if
an armed attack occurs against any of the member states, such an attack is
considered an attack against all member states, and therefore, they are obliged
to help the attacked member state with the military if needed. So, if one ally is
intruded or attacked its land by tanks, its airspace by fighter jets, or its
water by a submarine of a non-NATO country, other allies might mobilize their
military power to encounter the crises.
Recently, the Secretary General of NATO has reaffirmed
the organization’s commitment to respond to cyberspace attacks to any member
state, such as a nation’s electric power system or government administrative
system. However, cybercriminals are usually anonymous. They don’t carry a
national flag or dispatch malware from a military installation. Also, they are
often not directly linked to the government, agency or military of a nation. For
example, a massive cyberattack can be carried out from civilian computers located
in one of the allies. Tracking and tracing who, how and where the attacker is
not an easy task.
Will the world ever see a counter or
preemptive cyber-attack with a NATO flag attached malware?
Enjoy reading the article about NATO’s
commitment in cyberspace.
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