Gray Zone, Twilight Zone, or Danger Zone? Russian Cyber and Information Operations in Ukraine

Prior to the invasion of Ukraine, Russian cyber and information operations boasted a fearsome reputation. Surprisingly, Russian cyber operations don’t seem to have played a major role in the invasion, and Ukrainian information operations have routinely bested often-clumsy Russian efforts. As Christopher Krebs, former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, explains in this week’s Horns of a Dilemma, the Russian invasion was preceded by cyber attacks, but a combination of skilled response by the Ukrainian government and adroit sharing of intelligence by the United States and western partners has blunted the effectiveness of Russian cyber and information operations. Krebs points out that despite the stymied Russian cyber and information campaign (and partly because of its lack of success) this is a very dangerous time in the world of cyber security and information warfare. This conversation was recorded at the University of Texas, Austin, where Krebs spoke on March 10 as part of the Brumley Fellows program at the Strauss Center. The conversation was hosted by Bobby Chesney, director of the Strauss Center.

Image: Bogomolov.PL, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons