Biden’s killer tactics in keeping his enemy close
JOE BIDEN’S Irish eyes were smiling in Geneva on Wednesday when he met Russia’s de facto dictator Vladimir Putin, a man he’s already described as a killer. Clearly, the US president was holding a handkerchief to his nose.
The meeting proves the realpolitik of international relations – sometimes, you gotta sup with the devil, as a lesser evil.
The most extraordinary thing to emerge from the summit was Biden’s reference to Russia having to accept ‘basic rules of the road’ when it came to cyberattacks – an open acknowledgement that both sides are at it. In fact, Biden said he had drawn up 16 areas, including energy, water systems and the fuel sectors, that should be exempt from attack in each other’s country. And now experts from both sides are to work out the details.
Afterwards Putin claimed that Russia had suffered 45 cyberattacks last year and 35 so far this year, with most coming from the US, followed by Canada and Britain. All of which puts Russian interference with American systems, including the democratic process, in a certain context.
The devastating attack on our HSE system by Russian criminals can be seen as collateral in a global cyber war involving world powers using binary codes instead of live bombs and bullets.
Last year a Russian intelligence-backed cyberattack on America even managed to compromise the US Department of Homeland
Security’s own cyber security agency whose job it is to protect US Federal computer networks. The attacks have continued since, including one that shut down the Colonial Pipeline in May. Biden has responded with sanctions, including on several Russian tech companies.
Unfortunately, the war is unlikely to end anytime soon – leaving us all vulnerable to more HSE-style attacks.