Risky Bulletin Srsly Risky Biz: Cyber bullets can't replace political will
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Feb 19, 2026 Tom Uren, policy and intelligence editor who analyzes cybersecurity and AI policy. He discusses European debates over building cyber strike capabilities and why political will, not just tools, determines impact. He explains distillation attacks that let rivals clone AI models by querying them and why firms seek government help on chips, compute and export controls.
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Sabotage Campaign Is Politically Tricky
- Russia uses Telegram to recruit disposable agents for sabotage across Europe.
- Cyber retaliation alone won't fix this without political will and complementary actions.
Escalate To De‑Escalate Requires Will
- Effective response needs escalation that hurts Russia more than its current campaign.
- Without that political will, adding cyber tools risks offering a hollow, deniable option.
Use Integrated Pressure, Not A Single Weapon
- Combine cyber with sanctions, interdictions and diplomatic pressure to increase leverage.
- Use many smaller complementary actions rather than relying on a single 'magic bullet'.