NATO can’t ignore the scale or severity of cyberattacks that Europe has sustained this year. Now, the alliance’s top general says it is considering a more aggressive response to Russian provocations.
The Alliance’s most senior military officer, Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, told the Financial Times on Sunday that in terms of cyber and hybrid warfare strategies, the alliance was “studying everything” and the shift was moving from being reactive to becoming “more aggressive” and “proactive.”
While Russia has waged war on Ukraine since February 2022, Moscow has also increased its hybrid attacks [warfare with an added layer of remote operations] across Europe.
Ideas being mooted among EU diplomats and officials, according to Politico include joint offensive cyber operations against Russia, faster and more coordinated attribution of hybrid attacks by quickly pointing the finger at Moscow, and surprise NATO-led military exercises.
NATO’s change in approach comes as Europe has been hit by numerous hybrid war incidents, such as the cutting of internet cables in the Baltic sea and cyberattacks across the continent, from hacks of Ireland’s airports, to attacks on Poland’s critical infrastructure.
Other incidents include GPS jamming, incursions by fighter aircraft and naval vessels, and an explosion on a key Polish rail link ferrying military aid to Ukraine.
Europe under attack
While hybrid attacks are not new, the sheer scale and frequency of attacks this year is unprecedented. A recent report by GLOBSEC, a Bratislava-based think tank, calculated there were more than 110 acts of sabotage and attempts carried out in Europe between January and July this year, mainly in Poland and France, by people with links to Moscow.
Now some diplomats, especially from eastern European countries, have urged NATO to stop being merely reactive and fight back, with cyberattacks being one means to do so.
Dragone said that a preemptive strike could be considered a defensive action, but added that it would require a step change in thinking for the organization.
“It is further away from our normal way of thinking and behaviour,” he said.
He added that other barriers to this approach were the legal and jurisdictional frameworks. “NATO members are much more limited than our counterpart because of ethics, because of law and because of jurisdiction.”
Ann-Marie Corvin is a senior journalist at Cybernews, where she covers the latest developments in AI. Based in London, she previously spent four years at TechInformed, reporting on the explosion of generative AI and cybersecurity issues for enterprises.
Before her foray into tech, Ann-Marie contributed to several entertainment titles, including Variety, Screen International, and Broadcast Magazine.
Beyond tech and entertainment, she also worked for the UK government's tax office (HMRC) as a staff writer, as a special projects editor at The Architect’s Journal, and at the internet safety charity ParentZone.
When she's not writing, Ann-Marie enjoys trying to convince her daughter that robots aren't plotting world domination (although she could yet be proved wrong, given that her favourite author is Ira Levin).
Other hobbies include trips to the cinema (she loves a horror!) and swimming in all types of water (though maybe not the icy-cold kind!).
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