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Google 'CND Response Action' or 'CND-RA'. 'cyber attack' also has a specific meaning, and the Law of War dictates a like for like retaliation.

The Pentagon can't nuke somebody for a cyber attack that causes some emails to be leaked, or some secrets to be stolen.

They can use physical response force in the event that a cyber attack can/will cause actual physical harm, such as disabling a power grid, etc. There is actually a very heated debate about what specifics actions will evoke a physical retaliation to a 'cyber' attack.



If the US or Israel is responsible for Stuxnet, would that be considered an act of war towards Iran? I'm sadly not well-read in either stuxnet or the requirements for it to be considered a cyber-attack.


Not technically - international law today "allows only three situations as legal cause to go to war: out of self-defense, defense of an ally under a mutual defense pact, or sanctioned by the UN" [1].

Iranians may construe stuxnet as an attack that they are hoping to prevent from reoccuring, and thus use the self-defense justification, but 'casus belli' must be the absolute last resort of a nation. Assuming they follow international law that is.

Another important aspect to remember is that retaliation and the use of force does not mean 'war' in and of itself.

[1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casus_belli




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