Russia threatens the US on Cyberweapons, Harking Back Cold War Tension

President Trump’s nominee to command the National Security Agency and the United States Cyber Command, the agency of the nation to control and monitor military cyberunits, Lt. Gen. Paul Nakasone, was criticized at a Senate confirmation hearing about Russian threat. Adding on President Vladimir V. Putin’s claim that Russia was producing “invincible” new nuclear weapons against American missile defenses, Russia has challenged the US with two fronts of threat.

Gen. Paul Nakasone acknowledged that there are plans being made against Moscow for its election hacking, pending approval of President Trump. However, General Nakasone also noted that the Russians seemed unfazed by US actions and display no fear towards possible US backlashes.

Between Russia and America there has been a strategic vacuum. Mr. Putin has launched a new generation of nuclear arsenal and cyber weapons, while the United States is still debating how to use its cyberweapons properly after it has spent billions of dollars to build an arsenal. The American concern of retaliation against any strike from not only Russians, but also the Chinese, the Iranians and the North Koreans. These possibilities have shaken up the security of American banks, utilities, stock markets and many other fronts.

Russian threats have pushed United States to shift its strategy of national security from one focusing on terrorism to one of “great power competition”, stated Jim Mattis, the Defense Secretary in January. This seems to hark back to the Cold War era where the tension between two superpowers spiraled upwards rapidly due to security dilemma and nuclear war. However, this competition entails more than just a larger nuclear arsenal, but also new types of weapons to counter the more developed missile defenses and technology. This is a race complicated by the technological advances of twenty-first century.

However, the Trump administration has remained rather quiet on its nuclear strategy besides matching Russia’s military capacity and weapon arsenals. The Pentagon believes that Russian threats and boasts are plans in development that won’t be fulfilled in years. However, this does not dismiss the suspicion and tension these remarks have incited in the United States.

According to Mr. Putin, US has filed to embrace arms control treaties in the past and that has led to his announcement of buildup. He claimed that US nuclear defenses that have been targeted towards North Korea is in fact also targeted toward Russia. Regarding this remark, American officials have dismissed its possibility because of the technology’s limited reach and capability.

A new missile defense strategy, which may be released this month, is expected to indicate that the program will be shifting its gears to developing missile defenses against Russia and China, which are powers with larger military and weapon arsenals. The agency hopes to counter Russia’s development of “next generation” missile defense. Amongst these responses lacks the mentioning of arms control, which has been the theme between the two superpowers since after the Cold War.

New Start, the most recent arms reduction treaty, is expected to expire in 2021, yet we have yet to hear from Mr. Trump regarding its fate and future. In fact, even before its official expiration, America has been developing technological actions and reactions to counter this new generation of weapon race.

Veteran of the Cold War have expressed their concerns for the resignation of an arms race, yet what concerns them most is not the new technology. Fundamentally, the intentions and tension follows the same strain of nature with that of Cold War, filled with reactionary responses, suspicion and misunderstandings. The cyberchallenge marks a new age of arms race, and the relationship between Russia and America faces a new page of strain.

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