US Russia Cyber USAGM
Metadata
- US Russia Cyber USAGM
- June 1, 2022
- Content Type Package
- Language English
- Transcript/Script English USAGM SHARE ((SLUG: US-Russia-Cyber HEADLINE: Is the U.S. Prepared for a Cyberwar With Russia? TEASER: The conflict in Ukraine may have shed some light on Moscow’s cyber capabilities PUBLISHED AT: 6/01/22 at 8:45AM BYLINE: Igor Tsikhanenka CONTRIBUTOR: DATELINE: New York PRODUCER: SCRIPT EDITORS: MPage, Reifenrath PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X (EXPLAINER)_ RADIO __ TRT: 4:52 VIDEO APPROVED BY: MAS TYPE: TVPKG EDITOR NOTES:)) ((INTRO)) [[The United States is the target of thousands of cyberattacks daily, many of them originating in Russia. If tensions between Washington and Moscow escalate further over the war in Ukraine, experts worry that Russian leader Vladimir Putin will order a full-scale cyberattack that could devastate America’s critical infrastructure. VOA’s Igor Tsikhanenka reports on the likelihood of such a scenario.]] ((NARRATOR)) ((Igor Tsikhanenka, New York Bureau Chief (for Web version)) Swift and coordinated Western sanctions imposed on Moscow for its unprovoked attack on Ukraine left the Russian financial system in ruin. Angry at Washington for spearheading the unified response and supplying the Ukrainians with weapons, Russian President Vladimar Putin, some fear, may retaliate against the U.S. in the domain his country excels at: cyberwarfare. ((Rep. Mike Gallagher, Former Cyberspace Solarium Commission Co-chair)) ((COURTESY: HOUSE.GOV)) ((Graphics with Gallagher’s words)) “If the situation escalates further, I think we are going to see Russian cyberattacks against our critical infrastructure.” ((NARRATOR)) Gallagher’s fears are shared by other experts. ((Nicolas Chaillan, Former US Air Force Chief Software Officer)) “Cyber can be even more scary than the traditional weapons.” ((NARRATOR)) How well prepared is the United States for a possible cyber-Armageddon? Well, it’s complicated. ((Nicolas Chaillan, Former US Air Force Chief Software Officer)) “The U.S. is leading in cyber offense, so we have very good cyber offensive capabilities. // But our defense capabilities are pretty weak. I call them at the kindergarten level.” ((NARRATOR)) A successful French-born entrepreneur and coder, Nicolas Chaillan joined the U.S. government in 2016 to help fight cybercrime on the international level. Since then, he has grown disappointed in the government’s ability to protect its cyber systems. (REPORTER ON CAM) The situation in some private companies that support America’s critical infrastructure is not much better, he says. ((Nicolas Chaillan, Former US Air Force Chief Software Officer)) “So, what you end up seeing is a lot of these companies are making those systems accessible from the internet because they do not have enough experts to locally maintain them. So, they have to send people remotely, virtually to go and connect the systems…// But effectively it opens the door to massive cyber risks.” ((NARRATOR)) Chaillan recalls the 2021 cyberattack on Colonial Pipeline, an American fuel transfer system, which left half the U.S. East Coast without gas, affecting the lives of millions for days. ((Nicolas Chaillan, Former US Air Force Chief Software Officer)) “We know there are plenty of instances when both China and Russia have been inside of the U.S. systems for months, if not years. In fact, they are probably inside of critical infrastructure systems right now, as we speak.” ((NARRATOR)) Chaillan says it’s quite possible that Washington’s geopolitical adversaries have already planted cyber tools into America’s systems — tools that can be activated at a critical time in the future. ((Nicolas Chaillan, Former US Air Force Chief Software Officer)) “At the end of the day, this is pretty scary. // It’s funny, how we are so complacent.” ((NARRATOR)) Other experts say that the impact of such cyberattacks, even those of a sweeping nature, will still be limited by geography and the infrastructure sectors affected. ((Jacob Galbreath, NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence)) “I think the scope of the damage that can be done will be large but regional. We have a lot of overlap in a lot of these sectors. So if powers are affected in one region, there is some flexibility in the system for this.” ((NARRATOR)) Some people say that superpowers refrain from engaging in full-on cyber offensive exchanges because of the principle of mutual assured destruction, or MAD, which applies not only to nuclear warfare but also to cyberwarfare. This principle of deterrence hinges on the notion that a cyberattack by one superpower against another would be met with an overwhelming response, leaving both countries devastated. ((Jacob Galbreath, NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence)) “They (Russians) have to understand that our nation will respond.” ((NARRATOR)) Estonia was the first country to suffer a serious state-on-state cyberattack. In April 2007, hackers — presumably with ties to the Kremlin — attacked websites belonging to the country's government, media and financial institutions. The assailants used botnets, networks of compromised devices connected to the internet. Toomas Hendrik Ilves was Estonia’s president at the time. ((Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Former Estonian President)) “Things have gotten much worse since then.” ((NARRATOR)) With the spread of internet technology, the number of web-connected devices increased. So did the potential for successful hackings. ((Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Former Estonian President)) “For example, there are half a million closed-circuit TVs, or CCTVs, only in the city of London.” ((NARRATOR)) As computer technologies develop at lightning speed, superpowers can only guess what kind of cyber offensive tools their opponents have. But, experts say, the war in Ukraine may have offered a unique glimpse into Russia’s true capabilities, shedding some light not only on Moscow’s limits in conventional warfare but also in cyberwarfare. ((Jacob Galbreath, NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence)) "If you’d asked me three months ago, I would have given you a different answer. But right now, it looks like they (Russia) need to spell out more time on defense; they are not doing very well.” ((NARRATOR)) One of the reasons why Russia is not doing very well, analysts say, is because of third-party involvement in the conflict. ((Jacob Galbreath, NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence)) “For the scale, it’s quite impressive of how many other citizens of the world are being involved for or against Ukraine or Russia. — In this aspect, the effect on Russia has been devastating. People around the world are against what the Russian army is doing and what the Russian government is doing in Ukraine.” ((REPORTER ON CAM)) Experts say that this regional war will have global implications and might reshape our understanding of the distribution of power, including in cyberspace.
- Transcript/Script USAGM SHARE ((SLUG: US-Russia-Cyber HEADLINE: Is the U.S. Prepared for a Cyberwar With Russia? TEASER: The conflict in Ukraine may have shed some light on Moscow’s cyber capabilities PUBLISHED AT: 6/01/22 at 8:45AM BYLINE: Igor Tsikhanenka CONTRIBUTOR: DATELINE: New York PRODUCER: SCRIPT EDITORS: MPage, Reifenrath PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X (EXPLAINER)_ RADIO __ TRT: 4:52 VIDEO APPROVED BY: MAS TYPE: TVPKG EDITOR NOTES:)) ((INTRO)) [[The United States is the target of thousands of cyberattacks daily, many of them originating in Russia. If tensions between Washington and Moscow escalate further over the war in Ukraine, experts worry that Russian leader Vladimir Putin will order a full-scale cyberattack that could devastate America’s critical infrastructure. VOA’s Igor Tsikhanenka reports on the likelihood of such a scenario.]] ((NARRATOR)) ((Igor Tsikhanenka, New York Bureau Chief (for Web version)) Swift and coordinated Western sanctions imposed on Moscow for its unprovoked attack on Ukraine left the Russian financial system in ruin. Angry at Washington for spearheading the unified response and supplying the Ukrainians with weapons, Russian President Vladimar Putin, some fear, may retaliate against the U.S. in the domain his country excels at: cyberwarfare. ((Rep. Mike Gallagher, Former Cyberspace Solarium Commission Co-chair)) ((COURTESY: HOUSE.GOV)) ((Graphics with Gallagher’s words)) “If the situation escalates further, I think we are going to see Russian cyberattacks against our critical infrastructure.” ((NARRATOR)) Gallagher’s fears are shared by other experts. ((Nicolas Chaillan, Former US Air Force Chief Software Officer)) “Cyber can be even more scary than the traditional weapons.” ((NARRATOR)) How well prepared is the United States for a possible cyber-Armageddon? Well, it’s complicated. ((Nicolas Chaillan, Former US Air Force Chief Software Officer)) “The U.S. is leading in cyber offense, so we have very good cyber offensive capabilities. // But our defense capabilities are pretty weak. I call them at the kindergarten level.” ((NARRATOR)) A successful French-born entrepreneur and coder, Nicolas Chaillan joined the U.S. government in 2016 to help fight cybercrime on the international level. Since then, he has grown disappointed in the government’s ability to protect its cyber systems. (REPORTER ON CAM) The situation in some private companies that support America’s critical infrastructure is not much better, he says. ((Nicolas Chaillan, Former US Air Force Chief Software Officer)) “So, what you end up seeing is a lot of these companies are making those systems accessible from the internet because they do not have enough experts to locally maintain them. So, they have to send people remotely, virtually to go and connect the systems…// But effectively it opens the door to massive cyber risks.” ((NARRATOR)) Chaillan recalls the 2021 cyberattack on Colonial Pipeline, an American fuel transfer system, which left half the U.S. East Coast without gas, affecting the lives of millions for days. ((Nicolas Chaillan, Former US Air Force Chief Software Officer)) “We know there are plenty of instances when both China and Russia have been inside of the U.S. systems for months, if not years. In fact, they are probably inside of critical infrastructure systems right now, as we speak.” ((NARRATOR)) Chaillan says it’s quite possible that Washington’s geopolitical adversaries have already planted cyber tools into America’s systems — tools that can be activated at a critical time in the future. ((Nicolas Chaillan, Former US Air Force Chief Software Officer)) “At the end of the day, this is pretty scary. // It’s funny, how we are so complacent.” ((NARRATOR)) Other experts say that the impact of such cyberattacks, even those of a sweeping nature, will still be limited by geography and the infrastructure sectors affected. ((Jacob Galbreath, NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence)) “I think the scope of the damage that can be done will be large but regional. We have a lot of overlap in a lot of these sectors. So if powers are affected in one region, there is some flexibility in the system for this.” ((NARRATOR)) Some people say that superpowers refrain from engaging in full-on cyber offensive exchanges because of the principle of mutual assured destruction, or MAD, which applies not only to nuclear warfare but also to cyberwarfare. This principle of deterrence hinges on the notion that a cyberattack by one superpower against another would be met with an overwhelming response, leaving both countries devastated. ((Jacob Galbreath, NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence)) “They (Russians) have to understand that our nation will respond.” ((NARRATOR)) Estonia was the first country to suffer a serious state-on-state cyberattack. In April 2007, hackers — presumably with ties to the Kremlin — attacked websites belonging to the country's government, media and financial institutions. The assailants used botnets, networks of compromised devices connected to the internet. Toomas Hendrik Ilves was Estonia’s president at the time. ((Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Former Estonian President)) “Things have gotten much worse since then.” ((NARRATOR)) With the spread of internet technology, the number of web-connected devices increased. So did the potential for successful hackings. ((Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Former Estonian President)) “For example, there are half a million closed-circuit TVs, or CCTVs, only in the city of London.” ((NARRATOR)) As computer technologies develop at lightning speed, superpowers can only guess what kind of cyber offensive tools their opponents have. But, experts say, the war in Ukraine may have offered a unique glimpse into Russia’s true capabilities, shedding some light not only on Moscow’s limits in conventional warfare but also in cyberwarfare. ((Jacob Galbreath, NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence)) "If you’d asked me three months ago, I would have given you a different answer. But right now, it looks like they (Russia) need to spell out more time on defense; they are not doing very well.” ((NARRATOR)) One of the reasons why Russia is not doing very well, analysts say, is because of third-party involvement in the conflict. ((Jacob Galbreath, NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence)) “For the scale, it’s quite impressive of how many other citizens of the world are being involved for or against Ukraine or Russia. — In this aspect, the effect on Russia has been devastating. People around the world are against what the Russian army is doing and what the Russian government is doing in Ukraine.” ((REPORTER ON CAM)) Experts say that this regional war will have global implications and might reshape our understanding of the distribution of power, including in cyberspace.
- NewsML Media Topics Arts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
- Network VOA
- Embargo Date June 1, 2022 10:11 EDT
- Byline Igor Tsikhanenka
- Brand / Language Service Voice of America