The Russian military is fighting. It has failed to achieve the quick victory envisioned by President Putin and few advisers.
Russia has a lot more than just troops and weapons. Moscow has cyberwarfare capabilities that make it a force to be reckoned with.
The Kremlin has used cyber weapons to great effect in the past, even though its conventional forces have failed in Ukraine.
Russia has lost thousands of troops and dozens of ground vehicles, aircraft, ships, and other pieces of hardware, and much of that destruction has been rebroadcast to the world through social media.
Despite the scale of the destruction, Russia's cyber component hasn't been as robust or as visible as some expected.
I don't think Russian cyber activity is more subdued than expected, according to van Landingham, who pointed to distributed denial-of-service attacks andwiper attacks.
Many people had the perception that a cyber Armageddon would cause bricking of US and European computers or the destruction of Ukrainian critical infrastructure. That probably didn't happen because Putin wanted to fight a limited war in Ukraine.
The need for the most impactful cyber tools is underscored by the scale of Russia's operations. "You can keep your powder dry because you are using so many real explosives," said van Landingham, who is founder of risk-analysis and research firm Active Measures.
Should Moscow choose to escalate in response to US and European security aid to Ukraine, it has many asymmetric capabilities short of nuclear weapons.
The cybersecurity firms Mandiant and Dragos helped uncover a malicious software that was designed to damage natural gas plants and other industrial facilities. There could be more programs like those out there, as they would be vital to Europe achieving energy independence from Russia.
Russian intelligence agencies have been involved in cyber intrusions.
Four Russians were charged by the Department of Justice with conducting cyber intrusions against US power plants on behalf of the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Russian cyberattacks against Ukraine have been going on for a long time. Russian intelligence services have been mapping out their neighbor's critical infrastructure for years.
The Sandworm hacking unit is believed to be a part of Russia's military intelligence agency, and it was responsible for a 2015 cyberattack that cut off power in Western Ukraine. The NotPetya malware was used against Ukraine. The US estimated that NotPetya caused $10 billion in damage.
Current and former US officials worry that a Russian cyber offensive against US critical infrastructure could escalate or expand to conventional attacks. Van Landingham said that Russia could attempt to interfere with or destroy underwater communications satellites, which are not directly cyber related but support military and civilian communications.
During their meeting last year, US President Joe Biden told Putin that some critical infrastructure should be off-limits to cyberattacks and that the US has a significant cyber capability.
There is always concern for what Russian cyber tools the US and Europe have missed, what sort of critical infrastructure effects that could have.
If not go through a few exercises to stress-test their systems, the US should continue thinking about what the worst-case scenarios could look like.
Hasken, who has extensive experience with US special-operations forces and in the intelligence community, said that there is no better defense than a vigilant team with a full-spectrum cyber-defense program in place.
Russia was described as a persistent cyber threat by the US intelligence community.
Russia will remain a top cyber threat as it refines and uses its espionage, influence, and attack capabilities. The report said that Russia views cyber disruptions as a foreign policy lever, as well as a deterrence and military tool.
US intelligence agencies believe that Russia is focused on mapping out and targeting foreign critical infrastructure, including underwater communications cables and industrial control systems, allowing it to hold Western economies and societies at long-term risk.
The threat is not limited to nation-states. Russia is targeting and attacking people it sees as threats to its stability, according to the agencies. The data and personal information of politicians, journalists, nonprofits, and others has been leaked into the internet.
A defense journalist specializing in special operations, a Hellenic Army veteran, and a graduate of the University of Baltimore, are some of the things that Stavros Atlamazoglou is.
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