America's Cold War with Russia was fought with the threat of mutually assured destruction using atomic weapons. Being hit with a nuke is very much like being whacked over the head with a club, and the resulting fallout of course. You stand a chance to survive if the hit is not fatal. It's a highly obvious event, and everyone can see where an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile is coming from. The syringe can hold something deadly that's now in your bloodstream and might be extremely hard to kill.
America's current Cyber War with China is more dangerous and hidden than the fairly open conflict with the USSR of the past. The technological environment has dramatically changed over the last 5 decades. Walter Russell Mead wrote an excellent Editorial Opinion piece in the WSJ going into the details and background of the different type of struggle we are involved in with China.
It's an article called "Beijing Will Give You Cold War Nostalgia" and I recommend you send to your C-suite, because it gives them a quick, 30,000 foot perspective and immediately shows the need for more InfoSec budget. here is the link to the article:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/beijing-will-give-you-cold-war-nostalgia-11572909192
