HASfter one hundred and twenty days of Russian war against Ukraine, the results of Russian cyber offensive operations are very mixed. Cyberattacks against oil ports in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands were detected from January 29. The aim of these attacks attributed by the US, UK and EU to known Russian criminal groups was to disrupt Europe’s energy supply.
On February 24, the satellite communication service of the American operator Viasat was blocked by a cyberattack also attributed to Russia by the Europeans and the Americans. It seriously disrupted Ukrainian military communications at the start of the conflict until Elon Musk quickly implemented an alternative solution thanks to his Starlink satellite constellation.
Also listen Cyberattacks: between Russia and Ukraine, the battle rages
Ukraine has suffered numerous cyberattacks before and since February 24. However, its critical infrastructures seem to have rather resisted. The Americans have publicly confirmed that they helped the Ukrainians to harden the information system of their critical operators and also to remove the implants that the Russians had deposited before their invasion.
No infrastructure affected by a cyberattack
For its part, Russia has suffered numerous cyberattacks provoked by activist groups such as Anonymous, which succeeded in symbolic operations such as the disruption of the television broadcast of Vladimir Putin’s speech on May 9. Since February 2014, Russia has been in a permanent hybrid war with Ukraine, supported since then by Western official and private cyber experts, notably Americans.
Following the implementation of Western sanctions against Russia, Vladimir Putin spoke of responses “military-technical” (understand “cyber”). Despite President Joe Biden’s concerns, no visible cyberattacks have occurred against US and European critical infrastructure.
The explanation is found in a speech delivered on 1er June by General Paul Nakasone, Head of US Cyber Command and Director of the National Security Agency (NSA), at the NATO Cyber Center of Expertise in Tallinn, Estonia. In this speech, then in an interview with [la chaîne britannique] Sky News, Nakasone reveals that his command conducts defensive and offensive cyber operations, and information warfare, in support of Ukraine as well as Atlantic allies.
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