US decides cyber attack can be 'act of war'
In its first formal cyber strategy, the Pentagon has concluded that computer sabotage by another country could constitute an act of war, administration and military sources told NBC News on Tuesday, confirming a report in the Wall Street Journal.
The officials emphasize, however, that not every attack would lead to retaliation. Such a cyber attack would have to be so serious it would threaten American lives, commerce, infrastructure or worse, and there would have to be indisputable evidence leading to the nation state involved, NBC Pentagon correspondent Jim Miklaszewski said.
Unclassified parts of the 30-page strategy are expected to become public in June, the Wall Street Journal reported, attributing the disclosure to three defense sources who had read the report. A military source described the strategy to the Journal this way: "If you shut down our power grid, maybe we will put a missile down one of your smokestacks."
