The UK's top cybersecurity official, Richard Horne, has characterized the current state of cyberspace as a nation-state contest, emphasizing that digital defense should be viewed as a dynamic opposition rather than a static risk management issue. This perspective shift is driven by the increasing presence of state-aligned threat actors, whose activities have significant geopolitical implications that extend far beyond the immediate targets of their attacks. The recent surge in breaches and hacking incidents is seen as an early indication of a larger, impending conflict. Horne's remarks underscore the need for a more proactive and adaptive approach to cybersecurity, one that acknowledges the constantly evolving nature of the threat landscape1. This new paradigm has critical implications for cybersecurity practitioners, who must now consider the broader geopolitical context of cyber threats, so what matters most is recognizing that the calculus of cyber exposure has shifted from a solely criminal concern to a geopolitical one.