Hack us and you're basically attacking America, says UK defence sec

Given that most large-scale hacks tend to be backed by states such as China and Russia, it seems that Sir Michael's speech is a public shot across their bows, warning them not to target Blighty – while simultaneously urging NATO to treat the Article 5 collective defence provisions as applying to cyberspace.

It is unlikely that many countries would take Article 5 seriously in the context of cyberspace, given that many NATO member states effectively ignore the treaty requirement for them to spend two per cent of GDP on military spending