The phrase “Cyber War” has been discussed for years and debates over whether cyberattacks are “acts of war” is not new. But in 2022 and 2023, there is no question that we are seeing a cyber-war. The war between Russia and Ukraine — caused by illegal aggression by the Russian government — is the first time we saw two countries waging a physical war while also engaging in open cyber conflict.
The Russian government is deploying illegitimate cyberattacks as part of their war plans — directed at Ukrainian critical infrastructure and other command-and-control targets, as well as via social engineering means to undermine Ukrainian citizenry support for their government. However, Russia’s use of cyber offense operations has had limited success thus far.