Abstract:

Suppose the probability of State-sponsored Russian and Chinese cyber breach of U.S. critical infrastructures is nearly 100 percent. In that case,1 the obvious question for the United States and government security professionals becomes not whether to act, but how to get China and Russia to confess to the crime. Under what circumstances will Russia and China remain silent if the prisoner's dilemma suggests that their dominant strategy after an attack is to defect (confess)? Why are these nations not conceding or considering owning up to any attacks on U.S. critical infrastructures?