The United States is working with Ukraine to bolster its cybersecurity defenses, having sent teams of experts to Ukraine in recent weeks. But reports coming back are that little can be done in the near term to harden the country’s cyber defense against another Russian attack.
On Jan. 16, a total of 12 Ukrainian government computer systems and most of Ukraine’s ministry websites went down in what cyber experts believe was a Russian-based attack in a show of force.
Ukraine has suffered several large-scale attacks against portions of its power grid since 2014, after Russia invaded eastern Ukraine and annexed Crimea. The expert consensus is that Russia has used Ukraine as a testing ground for developing its cyber warfare prowess.
In analyzing the Jan. 16 attack, Microsoft warned that it had detected a dangerous form of malware in Ukraine’s government and private computer networks.
On Feb. 1, Anne Neuberger, the US deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology, arrived at NATO headquarters in Brussels to confer with counterparts on measures to harden Ukraine’s cyber defenses against any future attack, the New York Times reported.
“We have been warning for weeks and months, both publicly and privately, that cyberattacks could be part of a broad-based Russian effort to destabilize and further invade Ukraine,“
noted a White House statement released after her arrival.
U.S. cyber experts working in Ukraine have reported that Ukraine’s systems are particularly vulnerable because much of the country remains connected to Russia’s electricity grid. The Ukrainian government vowed to de-couple Ukraine from Russia’s system back in 2015-2016, but never fully followed through.
Ukraine is now feverishly working to disconnect from Russia’s electricity supplies, but that will take time, which leaves it vulnerable to possible Russian attacks in the near term.
Another danger Russia poses is that it could cut a major communications cable, the Kerch Strait cable, which carries much global internet traffic into Ukraine. But in doing so, Russia would also sever Internet connections to Crimea.
An Atlantic Council report noted that the Russian military could also cut power or sever connections to a host of internet service provider facilities within Ukraine, whose servers move internet traffic within the country as well as globally.
“It could create panic in the rest of Ukraine and limit the international community’s visibility of further Russian actions,” stated Justin Sherman, the report’s author.
