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Microsoft's Threat Intelligence Center received a warning of a never-before-seen piece ofwiper that appeared aimed at the country a few hours before Russian tanks began rolling into Ukraine.

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Microsoft President Brad Smith speaks with President Joe Biden at the White House in Washington on Jan. 26, 2022. (Sarahbeth Maney/The New York Times)
Microsoft President Brad Smith speaks with President Joe Biden at the White House in Washington on Jan. 26, 2022. (Sarahbeth Maney/The New York Times)

Last Wednesday, a few hours before Russian tanks began rolling into Ukraine, alarms went off inside Microsoft's Threat Intelligence Center, warning of a never-before-seen piece of malicious software.

Within three hours, Microsoft was in the middle of a ground war in Europe. The threat center, north of Seattle, was on high alert, and it quickly picked apart the malicious software and notified the top cyberdefense authority in Ukraine. Within three hours, Microsoft's virus detection systems had been updated to block the code, which wipes out data on computers in a network.

Anne Neuberger, the White House's deputy national security adviser for cyber- and emerging technologies, was contacted by the senior Microsoft executive who oversees the company's effort to counter major cyberattacks. Neuberger asked if Microsoft would consider sharing the code with the Baltics, Poland and other European nations, out of fear that it would spread beyond the borders of Ukraine.

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Neuberger made introductions before midnight in Washington and Microsoft began playing the role of Ford in World War II.

After years of discussions in Washington and in tech circles about the need for public-private partnerships to combat destructive cyberattacks, the war in Ukraine is stress-testing the system. The White House has access to intelligence from the National Security Agency and the United States Cyber Command. Even if the U.S. intelligence agencies picked up on the kind of cyberattacks that someone threw at the government of Ukraine, they don't have the infrastructure to block them.

Brad Smith, Microsoft's president, said in a post that the company was not a government or a country. He made clear that the role it is playing is not neutral. He wrote about constant and close coordination with the Ukrainian government, as well as federal officials, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union.

I've never seen it work this way or this fast before.

The intelligence is moving in many directions.

The National Security Agency and the U.S. Cyber Command organize an array of briefings for company executives who are newly armed with security clearances. Much of the actionable intelligence is being found by companies like Microsoft and Google, which can see what is happening across their vast networks.

President Joe Biden's aides often note that it was a private firm that found the SolarWinds attack. The Russian government had unfettered access.

Russia has a reputation for being one of the most aggressive and skilled cyberpowers. Researchers said that Russia's activity in that realm has been less than expected.

The internet in Ukraine and the power grid were taken out by cyberattacks in early tabletop exercises about a Russian invasion. That hasn't happened so far.

Many people are surprised that there isn't more integration of cyberattacks into Russia's campaign in Ukraine.

Huntley said that the normal level of Russian attempts to hack accounts is never zero. The attempts have not increased in the past few days as Russia has invaded Ukraine.

Ben Read is a director at the security firm Mandiant.

It's not clear why Russia held off.

It could be that the Russians wanted to reduce the risk of attacking civilian infrastructure so that a puppet government would not struggle to rule the country.

U.S. officials said a massive cyberattack by Russia on Ukraine is still a possibility, in response to the economic and technology sanctions imposed by the United States and Europe. As Moscow ramps up its bombing, some think it will try to cause as much economic disruption as possible.

The longer and more effective the Ukrainian resistance holds out against Russia's army, the more Moscow could be tempted to use its cyber force.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, said on Sunday that it had discovered hackers taking over accounts belonging to Ukrainian military officials and public figures. The hackers tried to spread misinformation by posting videos that purported to show the Ukrainian military surrendering. Meta locked down the accounts to alert the users who had been targeted.

It was found that hackers tried to compromise accounts on its platform, as well as five channels that posted videos used in the campaign.

Meta executives said that the Facebook hackers were affiliated with a group called Ghostwriter, which security researchers believe to be associated with the country of Belarus.

Ghostwriter is known for hacking public figures' email accounts, then using that access to compromise their social media accounts as well. According to Read, the group has been active in Ukraine over the past two months.

U.S. officials don't assess any direct threat to the United States from stepped-up Russian cyberoperations, but that could change.

U.S. and European sanctions are getting harder to implement. Warner said that Russia could respond with cyberattacks against NATO countries or, more likely, unleashing all of the Russian cyber criminals on a massive level that still allows them some deniability of responsibility.

Russian criminal groups attacked hospitals, a meat-processing company, and the company that operates gasoline lines along the East Coast in the U.S. last year. After months of meetings between Neuberger and her Russian counterpart, Moscow conducted some high-profile arrests in January, which could easily reverse its efforts to crack down on those groups.

Biden has warned Russia against a cyberattack on the United States.

Biden said Thursday that the US is prepared to respond to cyberattacks if Russia pursues them.

Since winning the election, Biden has issued warnings three times. The leader of the House Intelligence Committee said that a Russian attack on the U.S. would be reckless.

He said last week that there was a risk that the cyber tools Russia uses in Ukraine wouldn't stay there. We could be the victim of Russian software that went beyond its intended target.

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