When Would Cyber War Lead to Real War?

When Would Cyber War Lead to Real War?

Vincent Manzo July 29, 2013 | http://www.defenseone.com/technology/2013/07/when-would-cyber-war-lead-real-war/67580/

When would attacks on satellites or computer networks justify retaliation with conventional weapons?

Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recently addressed this question at a forum at the Brookings Institute:

“[T]here is an assumption out there, I think, and I would like to disabuse you of it, that a cyber attack that had destructive effects would be met by a cyber response…That's not necessarily the case…And I think that what the president of the United States would insist upon, actually, is that he had the options and the freedom of movement to decide what kind of response we would employ. And that's why I say I don't want to have necessarily a narrow conversation about what constitutes war in cyber, because the response could actually be in…one of the other traditional domains.”

In other words, the method of an attack does not dictate the means of reprisal.