Responding to a Cyber Attack with Missiles

The blurring of lines between real and virtual worlds has led to the possibility of responding to cyber attacks with kinetic force. However, the difficulty in attribution makes it challenging to determine who launched the attack and respond accordingly.

• Governments have stated the right to respond to cyber attacks with kinetic force
• The border between virtual and real worlds is disappearing
• Attribution is difficult in cyber attacks, making it challenging to respond with real-world attacks
• False flag attacks in the cyber domain are a real threat

The speaker shared a personal anecdote about finding old photos from DEFCON 15 years ago, where one of the talks was already about cyber warfare. This illustrates how the topic has been around for a while, but the implications are becoming more real.

The lines between real and virtual worlds are blurring fast. Several governments have publicly stated that they reserve the right to respond to cyber attacks with kinetic force. Now we are seeing that happening for real. What are the rules of engagement in these new conflicts? And where is the cyber arms race taking us next?