Biden: Real war could follow cyberattack
Cyberattacks are on the rise worldwide - US President Joe Biden warns of war as a result of a cyberattack.
U.S. President Joe Biden, in a first visit to the Office of Intelligence Coordination (ODNI) since taking office, warned of a "real war" of great proportions as a result of cyberattacks.
The U.S. government and several allies had most recently accused China of "irresponsible malicious cyber activities." As summarized by the news agency DPA, the U.S. sees China behind the March attack on Microsoft's Exchange Server.
"If we end up in a war, a real war with a major power, it will be as a result of a cyberattack of major consequence," Biden said.
The United States is also looking at Russia: the hacker attackers are criminals with targets abroad, on the one hand, and Russian intelligence services targeting authorities, ministries and companies in the United States, on the other. The Russian government denies such attempted attacks.
Cyber threats, including ransomware, are increasingly capable of causing real-world damage and disruption. At the summit between Biden and Putin, the U.S. president handed Moscow a list of 16 areas of critical U.S. infrastructure that should not be subject to hacking attacks. These include food, the energy sector, banks, and healthcare facilities.
Source: German Press Agency (dpa)
