The Use of Cyber Tools by the Russian Military: Lessons from the War against Ukraine and a Warning for NATO?

Abstract

This article examines the Russian military’s Information Warfare (IW) activities. The particular focus here is on the use by this military of operations in cyberspace as a strategic force-multiplier. It seeks to shed light on why such operations are so important to this military and what goals it hopes to achieve through their use. In particular, this article highlights the role played by what Russian analysts refer to as cyber-psychological and cyber-technical opera- tions. Having established the background to the Russian military’s IW thinking, this article then goes on to examine the application of its cyberspace operations against Ukraine: both before the 2022 invasion and as part of it. It is from this examination of the cyber- attacks conducted against Ukraine that a better understanding of the potential of Russian IW can be generated. As such, lessons can be drawn from this conflict as to how, in the future, the Russian military might employ IW specifically against NATO states as part of a major kinetic confrontation. But, as this article notes, drawing lessons as to the actual strength of Russian IW capabilities from the Ukraine conflict may be a flawed process. It may be the case that the Russian military might not have shown its true cyber hand in Ukraine. It may be saving its best cyber tools for any future conflict with NATO itself.