Sections

Introduction [00:00 – 01:40]

Russia’s Capabilities in Cyberspace [01:40 – 17:48]

Russian Cyber Attacks in Ukraine [17:48 – 27:20]

Ukraine’s IT Army and Global Pushback [27:20 – 43:05]

Narrative Wars over Ukraine in Global Media [43:05 – 53:18]

Possible Reasons for Limited Russian Cyber Effects [53:18 – 1:07:38]

In this episode of Def Talks on YouTube, Aadi Achint analyses with Lt Gen (Dr) R S Panwar the degree of effectiveness of Russian cyberspace operations assessed so far in the ongoing Ukraine conflict. The conversation first sets up the backdrop by listing out the different facets of conflicts in cyberspace. Thereafter, in an attempt to understand why the world was expecting crippling attacks by Russia through cyberspace in this conflict, an overview is given about Russia’s cyber organizations and its offensive cyberspace capabilities demonstrated globally over the years. Next, noteworthy cyberattacks carried by Russia against Ukraine since 2013 are listed, before detailing the cyber effects known to have been achieved by Russia so far in the ongoing conflict. The stiff resistance put up by Ukraine, by setting up an ad hoc IT Army with support from across the globe, is then discussed. Narrative wars over the broadcast and social media platforms are also touched upon. The discussion wraps up with an attempt to analyze the reasons why Russian cyberattacks in this conflict do not appear to have been as effective as expected, with the caveat that the full picture would be clear only once the fog of cyberwar is lifted.