Russian Cyberwarfare Taxonomy and Cybersecurity Contradictions Between Russia and EU: An Analysis of Management, Strategies, Standards, and Legal Aspects

Introduction

Since the collapse of Soviet Union, scientific and political communities have doubted Russia’s war fighting capability, ability to form situational awareness and their capacity to conduct large scale warfare. However in its latest conflicts Russia has proved that cyber has maximized the power of strike when used alongside the traditional war fighting methods. Even though the idea of common defence policy for the EU started in the end of the Cold War, issues such as forming a multinational preparedness level and the ability to lead military based cyber operations are not yet been implemented. Both EU and Russia have history of weakening their critical level preparedness. Russia had to re-create itself without its strategically important Soviet era military bases and telecommunication networks which were left to Eastern Europe after the independence of the post-Soviet states. Furthermore most EU countries preparedness level was systematically reduced after World War II.

The EU is an interesting benchmark for Russia since it has developed itself by becoming more like a state and is enhancing its defence capabilities. The EU via its institutions and bodies speaks on behalf of all its member states, representing and upholding the interests of the EU as a whole. Furthermore the EU provides an integral part of the legal system of its member states. By comparing EU and Russia we obtain important information on their abilities to use cyber as an extension of policy and how it is implemented as part of governmental management structures. Russia has no official military strategy at the moment except a nuclear strategy (Lieutenant colonel Forsström, P., personal communication, September 23, 2014), but cyberwar methods, new weaponry and Russia’s recent conflicts are re-creating a strategic baseline. Even though political tension between the EU and Russia has risen in recent years, the EU has not proceeded with a creation of power structures for managing its member states cybersecurity. The actions taken have rather been legal frameworks and policies which limit its ability for intelligence based operations in telecommunication networks. The EU’s sanctions against Russia based on the Ukraine conflict might escalate new conflicts in near future, which is why it is crucial to understand how capable the EU countries are of defending their values and sovereignty against cyberwar actions. Moreover, each EU member state is responsible for developing its own cyber strategies. This creates a major contrast to Russia which developed without any publicity its cyber capability; which weakens predictability. Russia’s policy in conflicts is to react via the military when political consensus cannot be created. Russia has taken many necessary actions in political conflicts whether they were accepted or not by international norms and laws, which naturally gives them the opportunity to use all needed methods, such as cyberattacks.