Microsoft Highlights Russia’s Cyber War
Russia’s cyber war against Ukraine hardly seems to be taking place. That’s according to a new report However, Microsoft’s main reason is that there are few spectacular hacks, but continuous, hidden pressure.
Many laymen might have expected, for example, Russian hackers to paralyze critical infrastructures or the like with sensational actions. However, this only happened on a very limited scale. Instead, however, Russia continued to conduct spy campaigns, which can now be seen in 42 countries on all continents. The focus was, of course, on NATO member states and other supporters of Ukraine.
“The Russian invasion relies in part on a cyber strategy that includes at least three distinct and sometimes coordinated efforts: destructive cyberattacks in Ukraine, network penetration and espionage outside Ukraine, and influence operations targeting people around the world,” Microsoft said. in the report.
The United States was Russia’s main target, according to Microsoft, but the company also noted numerous activities in Poland – which borders Ukraine and has provided extensive military and humanitarian aid – and in the Baltic states. Microsoft also pointed to an increase in attacks on networks in countries like Finland and Sweden, which have recently applied for NATO membership, as well as Turkey, which has opposed those applications.
Official bodies in sight
Nearly half of the observed activities were directed against governments and authorities, and another 12 percent against non-governmental organizations advising Ukraine on foreign policy or providing humanitarian aid. According to the report, other Russian attacks have targeted IT companies, the energy sector, and defense facilities. However, only 29 percent of the attacks were successful and about a quarter of the cases involved data breaches, which is the primary target of the operations.
But the propaganda battle that Russia is waging on the various social networks and other parts of the Internet should not be neglected either. It has long been known that the Kremlin has permanent staff members who try to stir the mood and sow doubts in the comment columns. According to Microsoft, however, this has increased significantly in recent months.
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