Are We On The Verge of A U.S. - Russia Cyberwar?

Cyberwar games at the United States Military Academy.
(Photo: Michael Falco for The New York Times)

Trevor Timm, The Guardian: If the US hacks Russia for revenge, that could lead to cyberwar

The US should attempt to de-escalate tensions by negotiating some form of international cyber treaty before this gets out of control

That’s the CIA’s brilliant plan for stopping Russian cyber-attacks on the US and their alleged interference with the US election? Apparently, some in the agency want to escalate tensions between the two superpowers even more and possibly do the same thing right back to them.

NBC News reported late last week that the CIA is working up blueprints for an “unprecedented cyber covert action against Russia”, and it sounds a lot like they’re planning on leaking documents on Vladimir Putin, just as the Russians are accused of doing to the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton campaign.

NBC reported that former intelligence officials said “the agency had gathered reams of documents that could expose unsavory tactics by Russian President Vladimir Putin” and another former official said the US “should … expose the financial dealings of Putin and his associates”.

Read more ....

Update: Could Obama’s Threat of Retaliation against Russia Lead to Cyberwar? (Larry Greenemeier, Scientific American).

WNU Editor: I sad it before .... and I will say it again. If the U.S. starts to launch cyber attacks on Russia, the Russians will know and they will retaliate. Where it will go after that .... I do not know. But I do know that if the U.S. wants to starts such a conflict, they better make the case for it now .... because they have certainly provided no evidence, and their remarks that we should trust them .... considering the high stakes that are involved .... are IMHO not good enough.