Volume 07 Issue 11 November 2024
1Billy Jeremie Sarimin, 2Angel Damayanti
1,2Universitas Kristen Indonesia
DOI : https://doi.org/10.47191/ijsshr/v7-i11-37Google Scholar Download Pdf
ABSTRACT
This study investigates the cyber threats that Russia poses to Ukraine and examines the strategies that Ukraine employs in response. The Russian cyber operations are believed to have started covertly before the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine War in 2022. These operations peaked when Russia targeted the Kyiv Post news agency and the KA-SAT satellite, resulting in significant communication disruptions and power outages within Ukraine, which affected both the government and society. The research utilizes theories of security strategy, cyber threats, and cybersecurity strategy to analyze the cyber tactics used during the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Employing qualitative methods and case study models, the study describes Russia's cyber operations that threaten Ukraine’s security, as well as Ukraine's responses to these threats. The operations included information manipulation and attacks on critical infrastructure. Findings reveal that the Ukrainian government implemented several effective strategies, such as establishing legal frameworks, creating cybersecurity agencies, and collaborating with the United States. These measures have proven successful in countering Russian cyber-attacks. Through its partnership with the U.S., Ukraine’s rapid response team (CERT) was able to recover systems that had been targeted, thereby enhancing Ukraine’s cyber resilience against Russian threats.
KEYWORDS:cyber threats, Russia-Ukraine conflict, cybersecurity strategy
REFERENCES1) America's Cyber Defense Agency. 2021. Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency. July. Accessed on April 1, 2024. https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/ics-alerts/ir-alert-h-16-05601.
2) Babys, Salomon A.M. 2021. “The Threat of Cyber Warfare in the Digital Era and Indonesia's National Security Solutions.” Oratio Directia 425-441.
3) Bateman, Jon. 2022. “Russia's Wartime Cyber Operations in Ukraine: Military Impacts, Influences, and Implications.” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 5-31.
4) Bergen, Peter, and Tim Maurer. 2014. CNN. March 7. Accessed on April 1, 2024. https://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/07/opinion/bergen-ukraine-cyber-attacks/index.html.
5) Berzins, Janis. 2014. Russia's New Generation Warfare In Ukraine: Implications For Latvian Defense Policy. Policy Paper, National Defence Academy of Latvia Center for Security and Strategic Research.
6) Computer Emergency Response Team of Ukraine. 2024. CERT-UA. April 19. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://cert.gov.ua/article/6278706.
7) European Parliamentary Research Service. 2022. Russia's war on Ukraine: Timeline of cyberattacks. European Parliamentary Research Service.
8) Fabian, Sandor.2019.“The Russian hybrid warfare strategy – neither Russian nor strategy.”Defense &Security Analysis 308-325.
9) Wired. 2022. A Timeline of Russian Cyberattacks on Ukraine. Accessed on April 23, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWbqAV_eh7k
10) Google Threat Analysis Group. 2023. Fog of War: How Ukraine Conflict Transformed the Cyber Threat Landscape. Google.
11) Khan, Rafiullah, Peter Maynard, Kieran Mclaughlin, David Laverty, and Sakir Sezer. 2016. "Threat Analysis of BlackEnergy Malware for Synchrophasor Based Real-time Control and Monitoring in Smart Gird." 4th International Symposium for ICS & SCADA Cyber Security Research 53-63.
12) Limnell, Jarno. 2018. “Russian Cyber Activities in The EU,” in Hacks, Leaks and Disruptions: Russian Cyber Strategies, 65-73. European Union Institute for Security Studies.
13) Miller, Christina. 2021. Industrial Cyber Pulse. November 11. Accessed on April 1, 2024. https://www.industrialcybersecuritypulse.com/threats-vulnerabilities/throwback-attackblackenergy-attacks-the-ukrainian-power-grid/.
14) Morgus, Robert, Brian Fonseca, Kieran Green, and Alexander Crowther. 2019. "Russia and Cyberspace." New America 18-30.
15) Jewelry, Piret. 2018. “The Early Days of Cyberattacks: The Cases of Estonia, Georgia and Ukraine.” Hacks, Leaks, and Disruptions: Russian Cyber Strategies 53-64.
16) Przetacznik, Jakub, and Simona Tarpova. 2022. Russia's war on Ukraine: Timeline of cyberattacks. European Parliamentary Research Service.
17) Rusi. 2023. Cyber Operations in Ukraine: A Conversation with Victor Zhora | WEBINAR SESSION 25 April 2023. Accessed on April 27, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAhw3LdkKnk
18) Rollins, Major Sharon. 2023. U.S. Naval Institute. June. Accessed May 1, 2024. https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2023/june/defensive-cyber-warfare-lessonsinside-ukraine.
19) RSA Conference. 2023. Stronger Together: The US-Ukrainian Cyber Partnership. Accessed May 1, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9w8aMo7fXrk
20) Sanger, David E., and Julian E. Barnes. 2021. The New York Times. December 20. Accessed May 2, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/20/us/politics/russia-ukrainecyberattacks.html.
21) Setiyadi, Basuki Erwin, and Makmur Keliat. 2020. "Counter Intelligence Cyber Espionage Against Democratic National Committee Members Ahead of the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election." Journal of Strategic Studies of National Resilience 5-18.
22) State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine. 2024. "Enhancement of Critical Infrastructure Protection: SSSCIP experts train sectoral specialists.
23) The Economist. 2022. The Economist. December 1. Accessed May 1, 2024. https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2022/11/30/lessons-from-russiascyber-war-in-ukraine.
24) Vasquez, Christian, and Elias Groll. 2023. Cyberscoop. August 10. Accessed on April 2, 2024. https://cyberscoop.com/viasat-ka-sat-hack-black-hat/.
25) Willet, Marcus. 2022. “The Cyber Dimension of the Russia-Ukraine War.” Survival 7-26.
