Bauer: cyberattack could be a reason to invoke Article Five of the NATO Charter

A cyberattack on a NATO country could be a reason to invoke the Fifth Article of the alliance’s Charter, Admiral Rob Bauer, head of the NATO Military Committee, said.

“Not only a physical attack, but also a cyberattack can become the basis for a debate on the application of the Fifth Article and, as a result of the debate, for the implementation of subsequent procedures,” RIA Novosti quoted him as saying.

Earlier, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the North Atlantic Alliance is ready to resort to the Fifth Article of the Washington Treaty on Collective Defence in response to a massive cyberattack.