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Friday, October 19, 2018

Collective Defense in Cyber-space

The United States essentially committed itself to a cyber Article 5 commitment to NATO:

Acting to counter Russia’s aggressive use of cyberattacks across Europe and around the world, the U.S. is expected to announce that, if asked, it will use its formidable cyberwarfare capabilities on NATO’s behalf, according to a senior U.S. official.

The announcement is expected in the coming days as U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis attends a meeting of NATO defense ministers on Wednesday and Thursday.

Katie Wheelbarger, the principal deputy assistant defense secretary for international security affairs, said the U.S. is committing to use offensive and defensive cyber operations for NATO allies, but America will maintain control over its own personnel and capabilities.

The article is from October 3rd, and I assume this offer took place since then.

It is kind of funny that when some people oddly question America's commitment to NATO under Trump against an armed attack on a NATO state, the United States is willing to fight for NATO in cyber-space, too.