In response to the news that later this week ministers are due to approve NATO's new cyber defence policy, which means that a digital attack can now be considered as the equivalent of an attack with tanks or rockets — and thus could trigger NATO's collective defence clause, Tim Erlin, director of security and risk at Tripwire says:
“The idea that a cyber-attack might invoke NATO’s collective defence clause seems plausible on the surface, but fails any test of reasonableness after just a few questions. Accurate attribution of an attack is difficult, resulting in either grave mistakes with military force or more of a collective defence pause than a collective defence clause. Despite the obvious practical problems with implementation, the fact that NATO, the world’s largest military alliance, is contemplating how to respond to cyber-attacks underscores the seriousness with which these threats are being treated.”