The security of Ukraine in the context of information warfare in cyberspace carried out by the Russian Federation

Abstract

In the public discourse on issues of international security in the context of threats created by the Russian Federation, such threats are determined primarily by actions below the threshold of “war” (of a hybrid nature) and are made using non-military means, e.g. in relation to cyberspace. Actions of this nature are carried out by the aggressor’s special services or groups of hackers and activists associated with them whose aim is to paralyse the functioning of the attacked state (its administration, critical infrastructure). Such activities are multilateral; activity is undertaken in many fields (social media, provocative events, establishing pro-Russian organizations, creating information portals) and is still escalating. The purpose of the research, the results of which are presented in this article, is to identify the activities and assess the impact of Russian information warfare conducted by the Russian Federation in cyberspace in 2014 and 2022 on the security of Ukraine. The research used general-methodological research methods – primarily, analysis and critique of literature. The case study method was used to identify specific examples of information warfare used by the Russian Federation against selected countries in Central and Eastern Europe. Keywords: security, information warfare, cyberspace, Ukraine, Russian Federation Streszczenie: W dyskursie publicznym zagadnienia bezpieczeństwa międzynarodowego w kontekście zagrożeń kreowanych przez Federację Rosyjską determinowane są przede wszystkim przez akcje z użyciem działań poniżej progu wojny (o charakterze hybrydowym) za pomocą środków niemilitarnych, m.in. w odniesieniu do cyberprzestrzeni. Działania o takim charakterze prowadzone są przez służby specjalne agresora lub powiązane z nimi grupy hakerów oraz aktywistów, których celem jest paraliżowanie funkcjonowania państwa atakowanego (jego administracji, infrastruktury krytycznej).