Increasing Threat of Cyber Attacks from Russia and China




The realm of cybersecurity has become critically important in recent years. The ability of both state and non-state actors to cripple or damage economic and civil infrastructure through cyberattacks constitutes a growing threat. Nations and other types of actors have been sharpening and honing their abilities to conduct these attacks on the United States and the international community.

In 2016, cyber attacks and cybercrime alone created more than $100 billion in damages to the United States. China and Russia have emerged as leading players in the realm of cyber attacks, being responsible for significant damages and losses in the United States, as well as internationally. Experts in cybersecurity and asymmetric warfare have indicated this threat has grown increasingly potent and serious with each passing year. Cybersecurity researchers predict that cyberattacks will cost the United States more than $6 trillion in damages within only a few years.

In addition to direct economic costs, cyber-equipped actors such as Russia and China aim to undermine democratic institutions through these asymmetric capabilities. Authorities on foreign policy and cyberwarfare report these hostile aims include running election interference through sewing chaos, dissent and cynicism via the systematic exploitation of political and cultural divisions within the United States, as well as within other nations in Europe.

Adversaries such as Russia and China continually probe the United States and allied defenses. Most obviously, these probes typically include sending military aircraft to test defensive responses, as well as military drills and other kinetic warfare related actions, according to cybersecurity think tanks such as the FDD. However, the actions related to cyberattacks, such as the probing of cyber defenses, infrastructure, and sewing political dissent can be less obvious to most observers.

Recent attacks from Russia have also included the successful targeting of the U.S. Energy Department, the Department of State, the Defense Department, and the Department of Homeland Security. Each of these departments reported being compromised at some point by Russian cyber activity. These attacks often gain less publicity and international attention than aggression perpetrated through more traditional forms of warfare or aggression.

In recent history, significant cyberattacks have manifested several times in Europe. Foreign policy and cyber-security leaders based in Washington D.C. report how Russia was able to cripple the Ukrainian electricity grid, sewing dissent with the Ukrainian government as Russia aimed to gain influence and control in the region. Russia also launched crippling cyberattacks against Estonia. It is through the growing technology sector that adversaries of the United States are best able to infiltrate and cause damage to America and its allies.

Russia’s Kaspersky Lab created a leading commercial antivirus software platform. This antivirus software was discovered to be a massive threat itself, developed intentionally, which aimed to undermine individual and organizational cybersecurity around the world. Cyber threats should not be taken lightly, and their potency will only continue to grow in the increasingly digital-reliant world. Kaspersky Lab has gained significant international attention and criticism. However, according to the cybersecurity experts at FDD, there are many other Russian companies that pose similar threats that have not received the necessary international attention.

The threat of cyberattacks has continued to grow, but unfortunately, international attention toward this concern has not grown to match the threat. It is critical that the United States and its allies take this problem with as much seriousness as threats from traditional warfare﹘if the United States and the free world are to remain secure in the future.


 

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