L' INTELLIGENCE CYBER par Jean-Paul Pinte

Russian Cyber Capabilities, Policy and Practice

David J. Smith
17/01/2014
Although most commentators on cyber threats to the United States appear fixated on China, we ignore Russia at our peril. « Unlike China, » Jeffrey Carr explains on his Digital Dao blog, « Russian cyber operations are rarely discovered, which is the true measure of a successful op. »
Russia—its government and a motley crew of sometimes government-sponsored but always government-connected cyber-criminals and youth group members—has integrated cyber operations into its military doctrine, has used cyber tools against enemies foreign and domestic, and is conducting strategic espionage against the United States. Moreover, it spares no diplomatic effort in trying to forge a path for its nefarious activities while resisting efforts to do anything constructive in the international arena.
To explain all this, it is necessary to set out two points about Russia: 1) Russia is characterized by a unique nexus of government, business, and crime; and 2) Russia takes a much broader approach to information operations than do most Western countries.
Corruption is the dominant characteristic of the current Russian polity. And with systemic corruption come opportunities for collusion on just about everything. The rule of law flies out the window, replaced by personal relationships and payoffs. Laws are enforced arbitrarily— what matters is one’s circle of friends.

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