US and European officials on Tuesday said they were ready to retaliate
against a Russian cyberattack if tensions on the Ukrainian border continued
to escalate. A number of new counter scenarios will be prepared based on the
severity of the attack.
Speaking anonymously to Reuters, officials confirmed that they were ready to
respond to any Russian action outside of the invasion attempt, including the
many hacks allegedly orchestrated by Russian parties in recent times.
"The president has said we will respond to Russian actions in addition to a
military invasion. But what is decided depends on the extent of the
cyberattack. There are so many ranges, it's hard to go into specifics," a US
official said.
Meanwhile, US allies from Europe will also take similar action. European
officials see cyberattacks as Russia's old way of conducting military
confrontation.
"Cyber attacks are a long-standing component of Russia's strategy, and
have been used by Moscow in past military confrontations with Georgia and
Ukraine. It is part of their guidelines," a European official said.
This statement comes after on Tuesday the online systems of the Ukrainian
Ministry of Defense and two of its banks were hacked. Ukraine blames Russia
for the pattern is similar to a number of attacks in the past.
Moments later, US President Joe Biden said Washington was coordinating
closely with NATO allies and other partners to expand defenses against cyber
threats.
While the US, Europe and Canada have drawn up detailed sanctions packages if
Russian forces attack Ukraine, they do not yet have a clear plan on how to
respond to a cyberattack.
Responses could take the form of actions other than sanctions, including
physical or cyberattacks on the servers involved, said a source familiar
with Western cybersecurity matters.
So far negotiations between US and European officials have focused more on
adjusting the sanctions that are likely to be imposed in the event of a
physical invasion than mapping out a menu of options for cyberattacks.