Most cyber operations are covert, lacking the ‘do this, or else’ clarity that effective coercive threats require. Cyber effects could keep Caracas tracking US preferences, rather than seeking regime change or surrender. Some cyber security experts have already suggested the uncomfortable questions that follow: how long could an advanced actor persist without detection? Out-of-band communications, manual fallbacks and rehearsed degradation scenarios reduce the payoff of coercive cyber effects and complicate adversary planning. The National Cyber Security Coordinator reflects recognition that infrastructure-scale incidents are national security events.