Europe must adapt to Russia’s hybrid cyber war

Ukraine’s vast experience fighting a major cyber war against Russia would be invaluable to an alliance with the UK and EU to defend Europe.

A paper by Dr Nataliya Tkachuk for the NATO CCDCOE calls for the creation of a ‘Cyber Alliance’ between Ukraine, the UK, and EU. The call comes in the wake of a Russian cyber war that has expanded far beyond Ukraine’s borders and is now a direct threat to all of Europe.

Forged in the fire of cyber war

How did Ukraine become so resilient in the face of relentless digital assault? The story, unfortunately, is one of trial by fire. 

The conflict truly began in 2014, marking the start of what the paper calls the world’s first cyber war. A wake-up call came in December 2015, when Russian hackers deployed the BlackEnergy malware against Ukrainian energy companies. This attack successfully cut power to roughly 80,000 households and businesses, demonstrating how vulnerable civilian life was to digital aggression.

That moment was a catalyst. Realising it was dangerously unprepared, Ukraine began to build its defences from the ground up. It rolled out its first National Cybersecurity Strategy in 2016 and a foundational Cybersecurity Law a year later. These weren’t just documents; they were the blueprints for a national defence system, coordinating everything from the security services (SBU) to the National Bank of Ukraine under a central body, the NCSCC.

As the threat of a full-scale invasion loomed in late 2021, Ukraine’s defenders drilled for the worst, running strategic exercises that ended up mirroring the attacks to come and learning lessons from the digital frontline that would be invaluable to Europe as Russia escalates its cyber war across the continent.

A new army to fight a new war

When Russia’s full invasion of Ukraine began, something unprecedented happened. On 26 February 2022, Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation announced the formation of the IT Army. A global volunteer force of around 300,000 specialists rose up to join the fight against the aggressor.

This citizen army took the fight to the aggressor, launching DDoS attacks, defacing Russian websites, and working to disrupt the Russian economy. Their sometimes chaotic but passionate efforts tied up Russian resources and, importantly, shattered the myth of Russia’s invincible hackers.

While volunteers played their part, Ukraine’s formal security institutions have borne the main burden. They have contended with an enemy whose tactics are constantly shifting.

Initially, Russia’s attacks were focused on destruction and disruption. Over time, they have become more insidious, focusing on espionage and intelligence gathering. State-controlled hacker groups like Sandworm and Armageddon now synchronise their cyberattacks with kinetic missile and drone strikes, even using compromised surveillance cameras to analyse the damage in real-time.

The human cost is always front of mind for the attackers. A massive cyberattack on mobile operator Kyivstar in December 2023 left millions without communication and unable to receive lifesaving air raid alerts.

The cyber war comes to Europe

This cyber war is no longer just Ukraine’s problem. Dr Tkachuk’s paper warns that Russia is now waging a full-scale information and cyber war across Europe, including the UK and EU. Attacks against EU and NATO countries are on the rise, targeting critical infrastructure, government institutions, and politicians.

Russia is also testing new hybrid tactics. It has combined hacking with electronic warfare to jam satellite signals, disrupting systems like GPS and affecting the safety of civilian flights across Europe.

In a brazen act of digital propaganda in May 2024, an attack on European satellites and a Latvian telecom provider resulted in Russian military parade footage being broadcast in place of regular programming in both Latvia and Ukraine. It was a clear political signal and a demonstration of Russia’s growing ability to manipulate information across the continent.

This escalating threat is why the paper concludes with the powerful idea of a Cyber Alliance. The logic is simple: combine Ukraine’s unique battlefield experience with the technological power and resources of its European partners.

Such a coalition would not just defend; it would create a united front for sharing intelligence, boosting resilience, and developing a coordinated ability to respond to deter aggression before it happens. Ukraine has achieved its cyber war resilience in the hardest way imaginable; the question now is whether the rest of Europe is ready to listen to its lessons.

(Photo by Evgeny Ozerov)

See also: UK seeks cyber defence interoperability beyond NATO allies

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Tags: cyber war, cybersecurity, eu, europe, government, hacking, infosec, military, national security, politics, russia, telecoms, uk, ukraine