A majority of American voters says that cyberattacks against American entities by countries such as China, Russia, Iran and North Korea should be considered acts of war, according to the latest poll from
Rasmussen Reports.
North Korea is suspected of being behind the November attack on the Sony Pictures studio's computer network. Russia was allegedly behind the July cyberattack against JPMorgan Chase & Co.
A report has identified Iran as the source of attacks against 50 targets in 16 countries, including the United States. And the FBI warned American businesses in October that China was behind recent attacks against U.S. companies and to contact the federal agency if they believe they might be a victim of such attacks.
The attacks are increasingly becoming a great concern to Americans, according to the survey by Rasmussen Reports released Friday of 1,000 likely voters taken from Dec. 3-4.
Fifty-seven percent of likely voters in the United States say that
such cyberattacks should "be viewed as an act of war," with 19 percent saying they shouldn't and 24 percent saying they aren't sure. This is the highest it's been since 2011, when 53 percent said the same.
More than 80 percent of American voters said they are concerned "about the safety of America's computer infrastructure" as a result of a cyberattack, with 48 percent saying they are very concerned.
As to what poses a greater economic threat to the United States — a cyberattack or a traditional military attack — 49 percent said a cyberattack was the greater threat.
According to an October survey by the
Pew Research Center, 61 percent of cyber experts said they believe that there will be a major cyberattack that will cause "widespread harm to a nation's security and capacity to defend itself and its people" by 2025.
Pew defined widespread harm as "significant loss of life or property losses/damage/theft at the levels of tens of billions of dollars."
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