Ukraine announced an increase in the number of Russian cyberattacks

WASHINGTON — Russia appears to be stepping up its war against Ukraine in cyberspace, while in the real world some of its efforts to seize key territory have begun to wane.
Ivan Kalabashkin, acting deputy head of the Ukrainian Security Service’s cybersecurity department, said Moscow was responsible for around 1,200 cyberattacks and other critical cyberincidents in the first three months of 2023.
At this rate, Russia could carry out 4,800 attacks per year, about 300 more than Ukraine attributed to Russian cyber actors in 2022.
“Every day, we face a large number of cyberattacks or critical cybersecurity incidents,” Kalabashkin said during a webinar hosted by The Cipher Brief’s Cyber ​​Initiatives Group.
At the same time, he warned that cyberattacks are only part of Russia’s offensive actions in cyberspace.
“We also deal with Russian special psychological operations,” he said. “A thousand a month. »
Kalabashkin’s remarks came amid reports from Western officials that Russia’s military effort has stalled.
“At a hearing in Washington, the US Armed Forces Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, said Russian troops in Bakhmut were ‘in a bloodbath’.
“Over the past 20-21 days, Russia has made no progress in Bakhmut and its surroundings,” he said.
According to Kalabashkin, there are signs that Russian tactics in cyberspace are beginning to change.
“In the beginning, in most cases, these were attacks aimed at destroying as much of our critical infrastructure as possible,” he said. “Now we understand that they have moved on to a different approach. This approach is intelligence-based and aims to collect intelligence.
“They are trying to collect information about our political leadership, about the decision-making process and things like that,” Kalabashkin said, adding that Russia is “also trying to collect information about international cooperation and assistance.” .
“Russia should never be ignored,” Candace Frost, commander of the Joint Intelligence Operations Center at U.S. Cyber ​​Command, said during a Cyber ​​Initiatives Group webinar. “History teaches us that when you think this country has reached its limits, it turns out that it has not.”