US VC Joe Biden just announced that the US will “send a message” to Russia. Apparently, it will be a message in the shape of a cyberattack. Cyber-offensive forces in the US have reported to having been activated to that end. The nature of the response is uncertain as escalatory dynamics in cyber signaling have not been defined. It could be a silent demonstration of serious hacking power, or a counter-leaking of embarrassing facts about the Kremlin or secrets of the FSB. But something will happen. The announcement is considered an in-kind answer to a set of recent allegedly Russian cyberattacks on the US electoral process, the latest and largest of which was the attack on the DNC, followed by the publication of Clinton’s emails. Russia denies all allegations, and whether the attacker really is Russia or not actually must be doubted. All indicators point to Russia, but only publicly known indicators have been used in the design of the attack. In other words: everything could be spoofed and may in fact be spoofed. The indicators are almost too obviously Russian. If fake, a third party successfully stages false flag operations to raise tensions between Russia and the US. Either way, with the coming outcome, the incident and its result must be considered very serious. The back and forth may look like mudslinging, but mudslinging with a Clausewitzian notion to it between nuclear superpowers is far from funny.