由于伪旗的不完善性以及关于攻击来源的传闻被广泛认为是可靠的（尽管未经法律验证 ） ， 对攻击者软实力的名誉伤害也能形成威慑。
To the extent that false flags are imperfect and rumors of the source of an attack are widely deemed credible (though not legally probative), reputational damage to an attacker’s soft power may contribute to deterrence.