Cybersecurity Cybersecurity
intelligence – NotPetya is the kind of widespread shutdown military and intelligence analysts have feared since Putin’s war began. So far, however, Ukraine (and Nato) seem to have been resilient against this kind of cyber armageddon.
Reasons behind resilience £6.35m
The amount spent by the UK to aid Ukraine in the cyber defence of its networks following Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
UK Government 48
The question of why Ukraine has been so adept at warding off the worst of these attacks probably has a few answers. It has received an outpouring of support from industry partners and collaboration between the UK, US, EU, Nato and others. In November 2022, it was revealed that the UK had spent £6.35m helping Ukraine defend its networks from cyberattacks in the weeks after the invasion began. These attacks had already been happening for some time, however, coming in waves in the second half of 2021 as Moscow prepared to invade. Once the war began, Russia’s strikes only intensified. “We’ve seen, on a daily basis now, the terrible images of the way that the electrical grid in Ukraine has been battered by ballistic strikes and drone strikes from the Russians – they face the same threat and same challenge in the cyber domain,” Leo Docherty, Europe minister at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), told the BBC at the start of November 2022. Christopher Bronk, Gabriel Collins and Dan Wallach at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, cite previous conflicts in Ukraine and Syria, arguing that “lessons learned” have been applied since February, “blunting the impact of the cyberattacks now”. In a keynote speech at Chatham House’s security and defence conference this year, Cameron suggested that Russia has made Ukraine “match fit over the last ten years by consistently attacking them”. Does West agree with Cameron’s assertion that persistent hacks from Russia have bolstered Ukraine’s
cyber defences long term? “I would concur”, West says. “At Nato, we’re under attack every day. That keeps us match fit. Every organisation will exercise their defences [...] and, in the current situation, Ukraine has been under significant attack and has been able to put up a seriously good defence on its own, but also with the help from others – particularly from its allies.” West and his team will continue to work day and night to keep Nato and its networks safe from nefarious entities. To stand the best chance of doing that, he advocates a collaborative transnational approach to cyber defence that is open to sharing information with other European nations. “The moniker of collective defence has never been more true than in the cyber domain,” West says. “We’re all using the same sort of technology. We’re all faced with the same sort of threats. We work in an incredibly collaborative way, sharing information and best practices, not just within Nato, but with our allies and partners as well. “It’s [about] being ready when an attack happens.
It’s not just about Ukraine, it is the same for many organisations,” he adds. “From a defender’s perspective, being ready and being secure is just critically important.”
No matter the form or frequency in which these operations occur, there is no doubt that cyber warfare will continue to influence the conflict in Ukraine. These attacks might not make the headlines, but they are an integral part of a shadowy conflict being played out behind closed doors that can have far reaching consequences for Russia, Ukraine and the European continent.
“Vladimir Putin has backed himself into a corner,”
West concludes. “He’s going to use anything he has to change the tide of the war – and cyber capabilities are part of his weaponry.” ●
Defence & Security Systems International /
www.defence-and-security.com
Skorzewiak/
Shutterstock.com
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