Microsoft cyber report: Russia employs large scale cyber attack efforts to bolster invasion, many failed.
A new study published by Microsoft on June 22 suggested that while much of Russia’s recent cyberactivity has focused on Ukraine, at least 128 network intrusions have been detected in 42 countries.
Only 37 of those (29%) managed to successfully penetrate a network. Among the successful penetrations, only a quarter (nine out of the 128 attempted attacks) resulted in data being stolen.
5 conclusions that come from the war’s first four months:
- defense against a military invasion now requires for most countries the ability to disburse and distribute digital operations and data assets across borders and into other countries.
- recent advances in cyber threat intelligence and end-point protection have helped Ukraine withstand a high percentage of destructive Russian cyberattacks.
- as a coalition of countries has come together to defend Ukraine, Russian intelligence agencies have stepped up network penetration and espionage activities targeting allied governments outside Ukraine
- in coordination with these other cyber activities, Russian agencies are conducting global cyber-influence operations to support their war efforts
- the lessons from Ukraine call for a coordinated and comprehensive strategy to strengthen defenses against the full range of cyber destructive, espionage, and influence operations
