Russia-Ukraine crisis: Should UK be worried about an escalating cyber conflict?
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Offensive Cyber
Jamie MacColl, a research fellow at RUSI (Royal United Services Institute), said Mr Wallace's comments "reveal how little we know about the UK's approach to offensive cyber, particularly when compared to the US. Comments like this highlight how we should be having a public debate about how the government sees offensive cyber, under what conditions it will be used, and what the legal and ethical frameworks are that will guide the use of offensive cyber," he added.
Mr MacColl added: "In the event of an invasion, Russia is going to be very focused on supporting the operational and tactical objectives of the invasion, the majority of Russia's cyber capabilities will be tasked with that."
But he noted warnings in the financial services industry and cautioned that the impact of sanctions - if they changed Russia's dependence on that industry - could mean it was less of a risk to attack.