"The Internet is an American invention; the NSA dominates surveillance and sabotage, just as Facebook, Google and Apple run the commercial side. After all, the work has been going on for years," the newspaper noted.
Arms Race in Cyberspace?
According to the media outlet, previous hacking attacks were in the so-called "phase 0," which includes intrusion, spying and usage of malware.
"But now preparations for what the NSA calls "phase 3" are going on. Namely: the "domination" over a network, the ability to take control, manipulate and destroy," the article said.
Many believe that the next military conflict won't take place at sea, on land or in the air. The most likely place for it is cyberspace, and former US President Barack Obama was among those politicians who ignored this risk for a long time before leaving office with great anxiety, the newspaper noted.
READ MORE: New Battlefield: US Military Plans for First Electronic/Cyber Warfare Unit
"On his farewell visit to Berlin, he spoke of the impending arms race in cyberspace and called for political solutions," it said.
On the Verge of War
The media outlet noted that the current situation on the Internet resembles a battlefield on the eve of a war.
"A huge potential for destruction has been built up and is awaiting deployment. But hardly anyone is afraid of it, because one can't see digital weapons, they are not shown during any military parade," the newspaper wrote and compared the cyber threat to nuclear weapons.
"Because one could do something terrible to each other, one would renounce their use. In fact, such resources are used constantly, never with full force, but by more and more states," the newspaper concluded.
Earlier, US Senator John McCain called on the United States to take an offensive stance in the information war with Russia and expressed sharp criticism of Trump's perception of Moscow as a potential ally.
READ MORE: McCain Calls on US to Retaliate With Cyberattack on Russia to Embarrass Putin
The politician said that America should consider a cyberattack against Russian President Vladimir Putin to retaliate for Moscow's alleged interference into the 2016 US presidential election in order to send a message to Russia.
According to McCain, the move is supposed "to make Putin deeply regret his assault on the foundation of our democracy — free and fair elections — we should seriously consider retaliating with the kinds of weapons he used. We have cyber capabilities too. They should be used to expose the epic scale of his regime's corruption or to embarrass [Putin] in other ways."
