Going public about cyber attacks: public threat sensitivity and support for escalation in the United States and Russia

Abstract When governments go public with accusations of cyberattacks by rival powers, what impact does it have on public sensitivity to cyber threats and public demand for defensive or possibly offensive countermeasures? Based on an original survey experiment in nationwide surveys in the USA (N = 1336) and Russia (N = 2000) during May–June 2021, we find that Americans are more sensitive to cyberattacks than Russians, which could reflect greater US exposure to and government priming on foreign threats to cybersecurity. While both Russians and Americans prefer de-escalation over escalation in responding to cyberattacks, Americans are more willing than Russians to support escalation, including kinetic military options. To explain Americans’ increased inclination to escalate, we examine how threat sensitivity and beliefs about the justifiability of offensive actions are amplified when governments go public about cyberattacks from rivals. We discuss the implications of potential regime-type differences in threat sensitivity and response escalation for crises involving cyberattacks.