Hitting back or holding back in cyberspace: Experimental evidence regarding Americans’ responses to cyberattacks

Abstract

Theorists offer many predictions about how Americans will respond to significant cyberattacks but systematic evaluations of American public opinion regarding these issues remain rare. We present results from a conjoint experiment and find that the public supports retaliation-in-kind against cyberattacks but is willing to escalate as the economic damage and human casualties of a hypothetical attack mount. Respondents support harsher retaliation after attacks carried out by terrorist groups or state agencies rather than those conducted by individuals or civilian hackers. Finally, the dynamics of the public's judgment regarding responses to a domestic or an international cyber attack are broadly similar.

Cyberattacks, Psychological Distress, and Military Escalation: An Internal Meta-Analysis

“…We draw attention to one particular political outcome of exposure to cyberattacks that is especially pertinent to our enquiry-support for escalation and military retaliation. Widespread distress following cyberattacks elicits incessant public demands for military retaliation ( Gross, Canetti, and Vashdi 2017 ;Shandler, Gross, and Canetti 2021 ;Leal and Musgrave 2023 ). Even if the identity of the cyber-attacker is unknown, a frequent scenario in cyberspace, public anger still encourages a generalized desire for some kind of military action.…”

Cyberattacks and public opinion – The effect of uncertainty in guiding preferences

“…Yet for all their credulity, the public maintains a crucial role surrounding cybersecurity (Shandler et al, 2023b). Widespread exposure to cyberattacks has been shown to undermine trust in government (Gross et al, 2016; Shandler and Gomez, 2023), generate support for intrusive surveillance policies at the expense of civil liberties (Arsenault et al, 2024; Snider et al, 2021), and provoke public demands for retaliatory action that can place pressure on elected officials to escalate tensions (Leal and Musgrave, 2023; Shandler et al, 2022). On top of this, mounting evidence has demonstrated decision makers are at least somewhat responsive to public attitudes toward conflict (Lin-Greenberg, 2021; Sevenans, 2021; Tomz et al, 2020).…”