MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th September, 2018) NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in an interview released on Monday that the bloc might invoke Article 5 on collective defense in case of a cyberattack carried out by Russia.
The Article 5 of the Washington Treaty established the principle of collective defense among the bloc's member states in case of an attack against one of the allies, which then be considered as an attack against all the allies.
"Not automatically.�It depends on the character of the cyberattack ... We will never be specific on when we trigger Article 5," Stoltenberg told Axios news portal answering a question about whether the article might be applied in case of Russia's possible cyberattack.
Stoltenberg added that the alliance had been boosting its cybersecurity and planned to develop offensive cyber capabilities.
In July, NATO said in a statement following the summit in Brussels that in case of a hybrid war the bloc would trigger its Article 5 on collective defense.
