Russia and Ukraine are also virtually fighting — here’s how
On 24th of February 2022; the world woke up to predictable but unbelievable news; Russia launched an assault on Ukraine in the early hours. This was the start of the invasion that had been talked about for weeks. However, it wasn’t only the war on the ground that people began to see.
A frontal, brutal and violent assault from three different sides of the country using long-range missiles and military ground troops. But it was only the tip of the iceberg, because on the evening of February 23, 2022, a parallel war using all the digital means at the disposal of the government and companies was also declared. Media, communication, finance…
Let’s see how this 21st-century war is being conducted digitally by both sides
1/ War and cyberattacks
Firstly, there are the most standard methods of attack. A significant number of cyberattacks have been conducted throughout the invasion of Ukraine. Indeed, almost simultaneously to Russia’s physical offensive on the ground, a significant number of Ukrainian governmental websites were found impossible to access because they had been targeted by DDoS attacks. These cyberattack campaigns aimed to prevent the flow of information and also targeted Germany (as a country friendly to Ukraine).
The counter-attack is also raging. The world-famous hacker group Anonymous declared to be at war with Russia in a tweet, at the same time as the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky had launched an appeal to hackers around the world who would like to help them in this conflict. From hacking billboards in Russia to disclosing compromising information about Russian politicians, these groups continue to carry out targeted actions.
The actions are still limited to the virtual sphere of combat but could have a real impact on the physical fight, with a hack of military applications or the remote control of power plants to make them explode for example.
2/ The digital financial system
Before 1984 and the introduction of the bank card, the only possible means of payment were physical with cash or cheques but this has changed dramatically since then. Payments using Paypal, bank transfers via SEPA or SWIFT, and even cryptocurrencies are now part of everyday life.
Very quickly, many institutions in Russia were deprived of access to the global financial exchange network SWIFT. This action blocked the flow of capital in and out of the country, and the entire economy suffered the consequences. In addition, Paypal, one of the world’s leading online payment companies, declared that it was closing its services in Russia.
When it is the whole of Western finance that lets you down, what solution can you turn to? One thinks of safe havens such as gold or oil, which have risen sharply lately, but also of crypto-currencies. Decentralized, safe, they allow continuity of interaction for Russia and partial protection against sanctions. But they also serve Ukraine, of course, including a donation system made possible by the address of the Ukrainian government’s portfolio posted on the country’s Twitter account.
3/ The Control of Information
But how can we talk about war without talking about propaganda? Today, propaganda is digital. It goes through the state media but also through social networks and goes hand in hand with censorship.
For Russian television, the message is clear:
“NATIONAL SECURITY THREATS LEFT NO CHOICE BUT TO START MILITARY OPERATION.”
“RUSSIA SAYS ITS GOALS IN UKRAINE TO DEMILITARIZE & DENAZIFY THE COUNTRY.”
As we already saw the power of targeted content in cases like Cambridge Analytica, it is essential for everyone to be careful about misinformation, and to carefully check the sources of information found online.
If you want to participate at your level in the fight against this disinformation, the site mail.1920.in created by the group squad303 will allow you to send a message of peace to a random Russian email address.
So, what actions have you taken to respond to this conflict? Let me know in the comments!
About this article
This article has been written by a student on the Grenoble Ecole de Management’s Advanced Masters in Digital Strategy Management. As part of a content creation assignment, students are given the task of writing articles based on their digital interests and disseminate the articles online. Articles are marked but we make minimal changes to the content. Thanks for reading! James Barisic, Programme Director, MS DSM.
