NATO may invoke Article 5 in a cyber attack, Stoltenberg said

NATO may invoke Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty - on collective defense - in the event of a “serious” cyber attack on one of the countries, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in an interview with the Economist.

According to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, if a NATO country becomes the victim of an armed attack, others will consider it an attack on the entire alliance and, as part of helping an ally, can take “actions deemed necessary,” including military ones.

According to the publication, Stoltenberg “warned Russia” about the possibility of invoking Article 5 if the cyber attacks were “serious.”

“If they are serious... then we can invoke Article 5 and respond in cyberspace, as well as in other areas, to protect NATO allies,” the publication quotes the Secretary General as saying.