Fick said Tuesday that although attributing cyberattacks to a specific group has become less technically difficult, it can still be politically challenging, especially when dealing with foreign-linked hackers.
“Historically, attributing cyberattacks to actors was technically difficult,” Fick said during an event on cyber diplomacy hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations. “We’ve come a long way in that regard.”
“But it can still be very politically difficult to publicly attribute an attack to a particular actor,” he added.
The cyber ambassador emphasized that it is important to encourage U.S. allies to be more “comfortable” and “assertive” when attributing cyberattacks to specific actors.
Last year, a group of cyber experts made similar observations, urging NATO to take authoritative steps when it comes to attributing cyberattacks to state-sponsored hackers.
One of the experts, Merle Maigre, a senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, said at the time that NATO should “deny covertness by attribution” and hold malicious cyber actors accountable for their criminal actions.
“I think NATO should persuade its opponents that they cannot be clandestine in the cyber operations,” Maigre said. “Attribution is a good way to make clear to malicious actors that their actions will be seen and will be addressed.”
