Biden: cyber-attacks could lead to a full-blown war

The United States of America warns rogue nations who support and sponsor cybercriminals

Biden warns about cyber-attacksAccording to Biden, cyber-attacks may lead to a real shooting war.

In response to the growing damage caused by cyber-attacks such as ransomware,[1] the U. S. President, Joe Biden has warned everyone that such attacks leading to severe security breaches could lead to a “real shooting war”. According to the U. S. administration, the United States of America could respond to serious cyber threats with armed conflict.

J. Biden expressed his concern and strict opinion in his speech at the National Counterterrorism Center of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. He said:[2]

You know, we've seen how cyber threats, including ransomware attacks, increasingly are able to cause damage and disruption to the real world. I can't guarantee this, and you're as informed as I am, but I think it's more likely we're going to end up — well, if we end up in a war, a real shooting war with a major power, it's going to be as a consequence of a cyber breach of great consequence.

He explained that tensions between Russia and China are rising as a result of numerous hacking incidents affecting U.S. organizations, institutions, and infrastructure.[3] Biden called these countries not only partners of the United States but also “potentially deadly competitors in the future”. He even let everyone know that the U. S. government is not only cooperating with these countries on important issues such as climate change but is also watching closely what the ultimate goal of Russia and China is.

Biden administration implied that Russia and China are already involved in cyber-attacks

Recent serious hacking incidents have revealed the extent of U. S. cyber vulnerabilities, ranging from widespread spyware breaches in the government and ransom attacks that have halted operations at an oil pipeline and meatpacking plants. The presidential administration has accused Russia and China of some of these attacks.[4] They think that hackers who performed these illegal operations are from Russia and China.

Despite the fact, that U. S. officials have warned that they would respond with a mix of tools seen and unseen actions, cyber breaches have continued to happen. And while Biden did not specify with who the U. S. could go to war, he immediately spoke of Russian president Vladimir Putin. He said that Russia was spreading false information ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. He expressed concern:[5]

When I was with Mr. Putin, who has a real problem — he is — he's sitting on top of an economy that has nuclear weapons and oil wells and nothing else. Nothing else. Their economy is — what? — the eighth smallest in the world now — largest in the world? He knows — he knows he's in real trouble, which makes him even more dangerous, in my view.

Biden also personally warned Putin at a June summit in Geneve. He said that the U. S. would respond with cyber if the Russian-based hackers or Russian state targeted the critical infrastructure of the U. S.

Cybersecurity issues are expected to become even more serious in the future

Moreover, Biden let everyone know that Chinese president Xi Jinping was “deadly earnest” about China's plan to become the most powerful military force in the world. According to Biden, “this boy's got a plan” for China to reach this goal by the 2040s.

Biden thinks that all cyber-attacks so far were just one aspect of the growing threats facing the U. S. He said that the next 10 will be tougher than the past 50 years because there would be more developments placing a tremendous burden on the intelligence community. The U. S. President seemed alarmed:

It’s really going to get tougher.

Thus, if the various cyber-attacks continue to become more advanced, the U. S. will need more recourses to deal with them. And who knows, maybe in the future, threats of a real war will actually turn into a serious conflict.

About the author
Ugnius Kiguolis
Ugnius Kiguolis - The mastermind

Ugnius Kiguolis is a professional malware analyst who is also the founder and the owner of 2-Spyware. At the moment, he takes over as Editor-in-chief.

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