In the event of a war, China and Russia are ready to initiate a large number of cyber attacks against vital American infrastructure and against its GNA arrays, the Pentagon states in a recently published strategy document.

The document states that these tactics are intended to cause chaos, mayhem, divert important resources and paralyze the mobilization of the military forces. There were signs of similar tactics being used before Russia's invasion of Ukraine about a year ago.

The Pentagon's cyber strategy document states: "The United States is threatened by cyber actors with malicious intent who seek to exploit the technological vulnerability of the United States, and undermine American military advantage.

"They are targeting our critical infrastructure and putting the American people at risk. Protecting and destroying these cyber threats is a top priority of the US Department of Defense."

Defense Ministry officials tell Defense News that China is the most serious long-term threat, while Russia is a source of more immediate and current threats.

Retired General George Tohill, former head of the US Army's Information and Security Directorate, said in this context: "These days, cyber issues are essential in the context of American infrastructure in the US and overseas, and are at the front and center of the concerns of our senior leaders.

"We continue to see vital national infrastructure as targets for cyber attacks, and this includes denial of service, malicious software, ransomware and intellectual property vulnerabilities. We in the US are very concerned about these issues."