Rather than increasing nuclear and cyber dangers, the real effect of such a policy should actually be to encourage stability by making it clear that cyber is not a “Wild West” arena from which the caution-inducing effects of nuclear deterrence are banished. Given that we don’t really know what is and could become possible in terms of cyber attacks, it makes sense to be clear that major, devastating attacks could well provoke the most severe response we can muster. This essentially stabilizing message can and should be no secret, but rather should be communicated through formal declaratory policy statements as well as directly to Russian, Chinese, and other governments through formal and informal tracks.

Ultimately the question of how we seek to deter major cyber attacks delves into questions of how deterrence—and especially nuclear deterrence—operates. Is major war, including nuclear war, best acceptably avoided by shrinking the range of provocations to which it should be expected to apply? Or are stability and safety best secured by ensuring that the shadow of nuclear weapons does not recede too far, lest their caution-inducing influence be lost and the possibility they are introduced into a conflict suddenly and unexpectedly be heightened? Clarke and Andreasen clearly hold to the former view, the Task Force to the latter.

Given that the security concern that lead nations to acquire and retain nuclear weapons haven’t been resolved—or even noticeably improved in recent years—it seems clear that nuclear weapons aren’t going anywhere. If that’s the case, isn’t it far better to ensure that everyone remembers very clearly that undertaking anything so destructive as an existential cyber attack could quite possibly provoke a nuclear response?

Elbridge Colby is a principal analyst at CNA, where he focuses on strategic issues and advises a number of U.S. Government entities. He previously served with the Department of Defense on the New START treaty negotiation and ratification effort and as an expert advisor with the Congressional Strategic Posture Commission.