Russia: Western cyberattacks could prompt military clash

Western governments have been threatened by Russia with a "direct military clash" should cyberattacks against its infrastructure continue amid its ongoing conflict with Ukraine, CyberScoop reports. "Rest assured, Russia will not leave aggressive actions unanswered. All our steps will be measured, targeted, in accordance with our legislation and international law," said the Russian foreign ministry's head of international information security in a statement initially reported by Reuters. However, Russia's escalating threats have been downplayed by cybersecurity and Russia experts. "Threats are just part of the Russian diplomatic vocabulary: They make them all the time and you cant take them too seriously. They threatened nuclear war, they threatened war with NATO, they threatened an invasion of Poland," said Center for Strategic and International Studies' Strategic Technologies Program Director James Lewis. The warning comes days after the U.S. was accused by Andrei Krutskikh, the top cyber expert at the Russian foreign ministry to have "unleashed cyber aggression against Russia and its allies."