It is an almost invisible war that has been emerging for several years and which finds, in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, a form of apogee: cyberwar, in which viruses replace bullets and hackers, soldiers . Mute, occult or even phantom, it transforms the computer world into a battlefield. A less bloody but also dangerous fight. Influencing elections, manipulating social networks and public opinion, paralyzing companies and administrations, destroying strategic data, these are generally the objectives of these digital offensives.
The documentary Cyber, war is declared, presented by Caroline Roux, broadcast at 9 p.m. on Sunday October 9 on France 5, decodes this threat which Russia has mastered, particularly since the invasion of Ukraine. Embellished with numerous testimonies, the film demonstrates, among other things, that if this war officially began on February 24, 2022, it was the day before that it really began, with a major cyberattack that nearly paralyzed the whole country.
“Nearly 500 computer attacks have been recorded on Ukrainian networks, mainly against government targets”, says Ukrainian General Yuriy Shchyhol, head of the state service for special communications and information protection. “There were also attacks against private companies, vital infrastructure. (…) It is without a doubt the first cyberwar in the world.”
This weapon of war that has become essential, the Kremlin has been sharpening it for several months against Ukraine. “Russian cyber operations vis-à-vis Ukraine probably started in mid-2021, many months before the war as such“, explains Elise Vincent, journalist in charge of Defense issues for the daily The world.
If Ukraine resists this computer attack of February 23, it is partly thanks to the Americans, the first to announce, in the previous weeks, that the war was going to take place. In a state of maximum alert on cybersecurity issues in Ukraine, the United States then commissioned Microsoft to monitor the risks of attacks by Russian hackers.
“February 23 is indeed the day we saw the first signs of a major cyberattack by Russian hackers against ministries in Ukraine.”
Tom Burt, Vice President of MicrosoftCyber, war is declared
“I was immediately alerted and was able to pass the information on to Ukrainian cybersecurity officials. We understood at that time that it was the beginning of the military invasion“, continues Tom Burt.
Thanks to this precious information, this offensive, which could have hampered the information networks of the Ukrainian government and completely paralyzed the country, failed. A veritable army of hackers is forming in Ukraine and their actions, once illegal, are finding new legitimacy with this war.
>> The documentary Cyber, war is declared airs Thursday, October 9 at 9 p.m. on France 5.