United States President Joe Biden warned that cyberattacks that cause serious security vulnerabilities in the U.S. could lead to a “real shooting war” with another major world power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Biden cited Russia and China, saying that they could later be “possible mortal competitors.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Biden administration has blamed Russia and China for certain attacks that have hit critical systems in the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking at the National Counterterrorism Center of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, he said, “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.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The comments follow NATO’s mid-June statement noting that cyberattacks are compatible or can be classified as “armed attacks” in some circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n