Pictured: Ukrainian tanks move into the city, after Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized military operations in eastern Ukraine, in Mariupol, Thursday (24/2/2022). (REUTERS/CARLOS BARRIA)
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been going on for 1 year, since last February 2022. Looking back, the war between the two countries did not only rely on physical weapons such as missiles and tanks.
One of the combat tools that has a scary effect is cyber attacks. According to NATO adviser Zachary Warren, cyberattacks will increasingly become involved in military efforts.
“In the future, we will all see cyber activity as a pre-emptive tactic to weaken opponents before carrying out physical attacks,” he said, quoted from TheNextWebWednesday (1/3/2023).
Looking back, a team of Russian hackers launched the largest cyberattack in Ukrainian history on February 15, 2022 or a few days before the invasion intensified.
At that time, several Ukrainian government and bank websites were paralyzed by Russia. This was to weaken Ukraine’s defenses so that their position would be more vulnerable when a physical attack was launched.
In January, the Ukrainian government said the targets of Russian cyberattacks had changed during wartime. Previously, Russia focused on attacking Ukraine’s communications systems with the aim of disrupting military and government processes.
After Russia’s first defeat on the front, however, the focus shifted. Cyberattacks focus on causing damage to civilians.
A senior member of Ukraine’s cybersecurity agency, Viktor Zhora, said that cyber attacks received have tripled in the last year. In January, he requested that Russian cybercrimes be identified as war crimes.
Nevertheless, the Ukrainian cyber network, which was under constant attack by Russia, in fact still survives. This is inseparable from extensive connectivity to overseas networks, as well as competent Ukrainian repair crews.
“This attack made us stronger,” said Zhora. “We learned a lot from this cyber-aggression,” he added.
Many analysts predict cyber attacks will be more common and have a greater devastating effect. The head of intelligence at security firm CrowdStrike, Adam Meyers, believes Russia is hoping for a quick victory.
(fab/fab)
