Ukraine’s cyber defenses downplayed by Russia

Ukraine had its cyber resilience and assistance from Western countries miscalculated by Russia in its attacks amid the ongoing conflict between both countries, according to The Record, a news site by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future. Such underestimation of Ukraine's capabilities may have prompted Russia to slow down cyberattacks against its critical infrastructure, and ongoing cyberattacks have been targeted at lowering Ukrainians' morale rather than outright destruction, a report from the Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service Vlisluureamet revealed. "Therefore, a cyberattack need not actually disrupt an information system, as with each attack, investigators have to spend human and time resources to check whether and how extensively the information system has been attacked, how to improve defense, etc," said the Vlisluureamet. The report also noted the lacking effectiveness of Russia's influence operations in Ukraine. "For now, there is still enough fuel to keep the war machine going Russia will not run out of cannon fodder, Soviet-era armaments or propaganda-induced imperialism any time soon. However, a quality leap in Russias war-fighting capability is very unlikely," said Vlisluureamet Director General Kaupo Rosin.