Russia Rocked By Widespread Electronic Attacks Against Putin

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Along with aid in the form of money and weaponry, the US and other NATO countries have offered other types of assistance to the country of Ukraine in its fight against Russian invasion. On Thursday, officials confirmed that a new type of fighting by the US in this conflict has begun: cyber hacking.

The head of the command at Cyber Command, a hacking unit in the US military, confirmed on Thursday that the US is conducting cyberattacks as part of its efforts to assist Ukraine in protecting itself against the military attack by Russia. General Paul Nakasone said that the attacks have been both offensive and defensive as well as information operations.

According to CNN:

‘The disclosure underscores how important projecting power in cyberspace — in support of Ukraine’s defenses and to potentially deter Russia from conducting cyberattacks against US infrastructure — has been to the Biden administration as it continues to avoid directly engaging Russia in a shooting war.’

These types of disclosures are rare, and the news adds to the public knowledge of the assistance that the United States, along with other allied countries, have offered in terms of assistance to Ukraine, a much smaller and less prosperous country than Russia. These disclosures, however, are timed and reasoned by the Biden administration and the military.

‘Nakasone’s comments, and the White House’s response to them, suggest that cyberspace is a domain in which the Biden administration feels comfortable countering Russia without fear of escalation. President Joe Biden has pledged not to engage directly with Russia militarily during the Ukraine war so long as the US and its allies aren’t attacked.’

So far, Russia has reportedly been slow to respond defensively against the attacks. One senior official tells CNN that this is likely because the territory of fighting using cyberwarfare is still somewhat new for the Russian military.

‘”For Russia, understanding the full scope of US cyber combat power is a gap for them which leaves them unsure about opening this front, at least at this time,” the senior US official said. “Cyber warfare is a new domain … It hasn’t been around long enough for any one nation-state to dominate it.”‘