Relevance Of Cyber Threats

The US is making systematic preparations to launch attacks on Russian infrastructure and anti-government propaganda.

On 9th October, Rossiyskaya Gazeta released an interview with Oleg Khramov, Deputy Secretary of the Russian Security Council, who warned that the United States might escalate cyberattacks against Russia due to the Ukrainian armed forces’ failure to achieve their desired counteroffensive outcomes. The Russian official also discussed multiple facets of the duplicitous practices employed by the US and its agents, ranging from the NGO network to satellites such as Britain, all involved in a hybrid war against Russia.

A.R. Lyukmanov, Director of the Department of International Information Security at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for International Cooperation in the Field of Information Security, stated a month ago that “The United States is increasing its offensive capabilities in the areas of information and communication technologies,  carrying out ‘preemptive’ operations against Russia, and utilizing its clients overseas. Among them is the infamous “IT Army of Ukraine”. A number of NATO “cyber labs” in Eastern Europe serve a similar purpose. Moreover, the U.S. “cyber strategy” adopted in March 2023 gives the US National Security Agency (NSA) the power to “punish” other states for violations in the information space. The US Advanced Intelligence Research Agency, together with the Naval Institute, government foundations, and private enterprises, are taking part in preparation of the “cognitive warfare.”

Let’s discuss cyber warfare and cyberspace in greater depth. The most recent cyber strategy implemented by the US Department of Defense, released last September, contains clearly aggressive narratives aimed at Russia.

Other records also demonstrate that the USA regards Russia as a cyber menace and a plausible objective for cyber attacks.

Thus, the US Army War College’s manual on strategic operations in cyberspace, dated 28 September 2022, refers to Russia 23 times but solely in a critical light.  The document contends that “Russia remains determined to enhance its global influence and play a disruptive role on the world stage.” whilst also expounding on  the Office of National Intelligence’s belief that “Russia will remain a top cyber threat as it refines and employs its espionage, influence, and attack capabilities. Russia views cyber disruptions as a foreign policy lever to shape other countries’ decisions, as well as a deterrence and military tool.” It is stated that “the [USA] is engaged in a long-term strategic competition with China and Russia. These States have expanded that competition to include persistent campaigns in and through cyberspace that pose long-term strategic risk to the Nation as well as to our allies and partners. China is eroding U.S. military overmatch and the Nation’s economic vitality by persistently exfiltrating sensitive information from U.S. public and private sector institutions. Russia has used cyber-enabled information operations to influence our population and challenge our democratic processes.”

In light of recent events, it has been stated that “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine demonstrated Moscow’s determination to violate Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, forcibly impose its will on its neighbors and challenge the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Russia’s military and intelligence forces are employing a range of cyber capabilities, to include espionage, influence and attack units, to support its invasion and to defend Russian actions with a worldwide propaganda campaign. U.S. Cyber Command (with NSA) has been integral to the nation’s response to this crisis since Russian forces began deploying on Ukraine’s borders last fall. We have provided intelligence on the building threat, helped to warn U.S. government and industry to tighten security within critical infrastructure sectors, enhanced resilience on the DODIN (especially in Europe).”

And the newly released version of the US Ministry of Defense Joint Doctrine Publication 3-12, Cyberspace Operations, defines “expeditionary cyberspace operations” as “cyberspace operations that necessitate the deployment of cyberspace forces in physical domains”. This updated version was released in December but is not yet publicly available. It is emphasized that improved tactical capabilities are required to achieve objectives that current cyber forces may not have access to.  Hence, there will be a modernization and strengthening of interagency cooperation.

The revised doctrine acknowledges the intricacy of cyberspace and the high demand for cyber capabilities. It has been suggested that a worldwide cyber support force might have to ‘reach out’ to assist several combatant commands concurrently.

Recently, the Pentagon has been developing the ability to carry out hybrid cyberattacks and electronic warfare, for both military and US intelligence purposes.

It seems that significant budget allocated to the US cyber forces was connected to these innovations and internal reorganization.

The issue not only has a military aspect but also relates to the general functioning of Internet.

In late September 2023, the UN conducted a vote to elect a new head of the International Telecommunication Union, which plays a significant role in shaping Internet governance policies. Doreen Bogdan-Martin, the US representative, received an overwhelming 139 out of 172 votes in her favour,  while only 25 votes were cast for the Russian candidate.  This implies that globalists will advance their concept of Internet regulation under the appearance of “openness”. It is noteworthy that the former Director of ITU was Chinese.  Hence, it is not unexpected for the Western media to steadily draw attention to Chinese cyber threats and espionage. They will now firmly enforce their “rule-based order”.

However, it is important to bear in mind that the “Arab Spring” of 2011 and other efforts to orchestrate widespread upheaval (including those in Russia) were coordinated through Internet communications within a broader geopolitical context. Civilian portion of the global network has been militarised by Washington for many years, purportedly under the guise of democratic processes and aid.  Nonetheless, the connection with military sphere is clear.

For instance, as per NATO analysts (The Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security), the conflict in Ukraine has provided them with various insights into aspects such as command, control, communications, intelligence, and surveillance (C4ISR).

The same center, alongside the International Centre for Nonviolent Conflict (led by ex-Yugoslav Otpor participant Ivan Marovic), released a novel handbook in 2023 on the arrangement of colour revolutions, entitled “Fostering a Fourth
Democratic Wave: a Playbook for Countering the Authoritarian Threat.”

This guide includes “cyber-attacks to undermine the regime’s coercive apparatus” as one of the measures for resisting governments in the third level of opposition. And on p. 68 states that “Democracies may also consider using cyber tools, applying general principles to determine their use… Second, cyber tools might be employed to disrupt infrastructure and other sectors and not destroy them, so as not to constitute an act of war.

Finally, democracies would use cyber tactics to reduce or remove resources regimes rely on for repression. Specific options include using cyberattacks—i.e., denial of service attacks—to disrupt regime access to financial accounts; disable or disrupt military planning or weapons systems; and deter further escalation in repression. Using cyber tactics in this fashion provides deniability to help avoid escalation while possibly mitigating regime repression and thereby aiding movements.”

This is clearly an interference in the internal affairs of other nations.

The document mentions the creation of new normative frameworks as a key component of a novel type of colour revolution strategy.

Considering the meticulous and intentional groundwork undertaken by both the political and military leadership of the USA, it’s safe to conclude that there may be plans in place to execute cyber attacks and other subversive campaigns utilising Internet technologies against Russia and its populace.

Relevance Of Cyber Threats