The SC
ELITE MEMBER
- Joined
- Feb 13, 2012
- Messages
- 32,233
- Reaction score
- 21
- Country
- Location
Russia's invasion of Ukraine would be the first to explicitly introduce a new front line of asymmetric warfare technology. In the last month we have witnessed a smart war with a well-organized battle in the information ecosystem and using modern technologies. Where ammunition is misinformation that undermines the truth and sows discord and distrust, or an electromagnetic spectrum that affects humans and devices.
The Soviet Union began spying on computer networks in the 1980s, after funding a large number of defense research and technology, basing its cyber efforts on a decades-old legacy of eavesdropping intelligence, communications technology, espionage, and influence operations.
The godfather of unconventional methods is General Valery Gerasimov, commander of the Russian armed forces. In an article published in 2013 entitled “The Value of Science in Foresight” in the Russian Trade Weekly, he wrote: “ In the twenty-first century, we have seen a trend towards blurring the lines between War and Peace. Wars are no longer declared, and once they have begun, they continue according to an unfamiliar paradigm.”
He pointed out that a prosperous state "in a matter of months or even days could turn into an arena of fierce armed struggle, become a victim of foreign interference, and plunge into the abyss of chaos, humanitarian catastrophe and civil war."
Mark Galeotti, a British university professor and expert on Russia, also said: “Russian methods involve a combination of two types of asymmetric warfare. The first involves realizing that “modern technologies mean that a secret war is likely to precede the onset of war, and perhaps even roughly before the stage of political instability.” The second form is less conflict than actual war, in which Russia seeks to divide the target country and demoralize and distract its people so that they cannot stop Russia’s attempt to achieve victory.
The asymmetric war waged in eastern Ukraine is, on the whole, a struggle using advanced technological tools. Ukraine faces a resolute and capable adversary, highly skilled in the use of information warfare tools of the past, and now the use of advanced technologies as part of the tactics of effective measures to wear down the opponent at minimal cost to further its strategic objectives.
The Russian government uses information and communication technologies to influence the resources and information of the target country and damage its communications systems. This includes using artificial intelligence to analyze the vast amount of open source intelligence ranging from TikTok videos and Telegram posts uploaded by Ordinary Ukrainians, to available satellite images. With the aim of distorting reality to confuse and destabilize the civilian population, and demoralize them.
Disinformation can create a significant “shock and awe” effect, weakening the opponent’s willingness to fight, as well as distorting civilians’ perception and understanding of the conflict. Russia has also used artificial intelligence to help analyze battlefield data, including surveillance footage from drones, and Russia has combat experience to use drones effectively in combat operations. Russia's technological superiority has now become a front that is undeterred by Ukraine as it fights a non-classical asymmetric warfare alongside conventional warfare on the territory of eastern Ukraine.
What was launched against Ukraine was not a war in the traditional way, but an attack in unconventional ways that undermined and defeated the power of the state before the start of conventional operations. Several hours before missile launches or tanks moved on February 24, Microsoft's Threat Information Center (MSTIC) discovered a new round of offensive and destructive cyber-attacks directed against Ukraine's digital infrastructure. Microsoft immediately notified the Ukrainian government about the situation, including the identification of a new malware package (named FoxBlade) that had been used. In recent days, the company has also provided threat intelligence and defense suggestions to Ukrainians regarding attacks on a range of targets, including Ukrainian military institutions, factories, and many other government agencies. It also reported on recent cyber-attacks on Ukrainian civilian digital targets, including the financial sector, the agricultural sector, emergency response services, humanitarian aid efforts, and energy sector organizations. They also assured the Ukrainian government of the many recent cyber attempts to steal a wide range of data, including personally identifiable information related to health, insurance, and transportation, as well as other government data sets.
Since the previous Ukrainian crisis in 2014 and Moscow's intervention in Syria, Western countries have been able to get a clearer idea of the offensive capabilities of Russian technological systems and doctrines regarding asymmetric warfare. The Russians were able to see the effects they could have with their own means: jamming GPS signals, cell phones, data links from drones, radars, radio links, satellites, ground/air systems, etc. This alarmed the US Department of Defense (DoD) so much, that it made a report that Russia and China were showing great competence in the field of asymmetric warfare. The report attributed to analysts in the US Defense Department that the United States risks losing control of the battlefield if it does not control, for example, such electromagnetic spectrum weapons. The report states that if Russia uses its full technological potential, it will have advantages that guarantee its victory at the lowest cost and speed, because the technology will give it access to all information from all means of communication, which will allow it to know all the means used and deployed, and to determine the approximate locations and early warning. So it will know exactly the balance of forces, strengths and weaknesses of the target system. It can also deprive the means of navigation via satellite (GNSS is the term for the International Multi-tower Satellite System) and this directly harms guided weapons such as missiles, bombs and smart munitions, which greatly impedes the movement of forces (land, air and sea). Also, deprivation of all or part of the means of communication will have very serious consequences for the course of operations. The lack of information exchange from the forces in the field, and without intelligence analysis, it will not be possible to draw an operational situation, and thus the picture will be blurry for the target party. This not only can lead to a deprivation of tactical vision, but to give a wrong picture of the entire situation. Also, the denial of means of identification (such as the identification system of aircraft on the radar system IFF) to identify the friend or enemy, means that it is no longer possible to identify units with certainty, and this could cause the allied forces to clash with each other or shoot down One of their planes by mistake. Finally, the deprivation of all or part of the long-range detection means as well as the presence of jamming aircraft, ships, ground / air systems, surveillance radars, etc., renders the target country helpless. Because it means losing detection capabilities, thus losing the ability to alert and having to succumb to a strategic or tactical surprise without being able to respond because a number of weapon systems will also be neutralized.
This is the beginning of the was of the future, the asymmetric wars, the wars of the age that are decided by technology, science and comprehensive scientific research..
Source: different sources
The Soviet Union began spying on computer networks in the 1980s, after funding a large number of defense research and technology, basing its cyber efforts on a decades-old legacy of eavesdropping intelligence, communications technology, espionage, and influence operations.
The godfather of unconventional methods is General Valery Gerasimov, commander of the Russian armed forces. In an article published in 2013 entitled “The Value of Science in Foresight” in the Russian Trade Weekly, he wrote: “ In the twenty-first century, we have seen a trend towards blurring the lines between War and Peace. Wars are no longer declared, and once they have begun, they continue according to an unfamiliar paradigm.”
He pointed out that a prosperous state "in a matter of months or even days could turn into an arena of fierce armed struggle, become a victim of foreign interference, and plunge into the abyss of chaos, humanitarian catastrophe and civil war."
Mark Galeotti, a British university professor and expert on Russia, also said: “Russian methods involve a combination of two types of asymmetric warfare. The first involves realizing that “modern technologies mean that a secret war is likely to precede the onset of war, and perhaps even roughly before the stage of political instability.” The second form is less conflict than actual war, in which Russia seeks to divide the target country and demoralize and distract its people so that they cannot stop Russia’s attempt to achieve victory.
The asymmetric war waged in eastern Ukraine is, on the whole, a struggle using advanced technological tools. Ukraine faces a resolute and capable adversary, highly skilled in the use of information warfare tools of the past, and now the use of advanced technologies as part of the tactics of effective measures to wear down the opponent at minimal cost to further its strategic objectives.
The Russian government uses information and communication technologies to influence the resources and information of the target country and damage its communications systems. This includes using artificial intelligence to analyze the vast amount of open source intelligence ranging from TikTok videos and Telegram posts uploaded by Ordinary Ukrainians, to available satellite images. With the aim of distorting reality to confuse and destabilize the civilian population, and demoralize them.
Disinformation can create a significant “shock and awe” effect, weakening the opponent’s willingness to fight, as well as distorting civilians’ perception and understanding of the conflict. Russia has also used artificial intelligence to help analyze battlefield data, including surveillance footage from drones, and Russia has combat experience to use drones effectively in combat operations. Russia's technological superiority has now become a front that is undeterred by Ukraine as it fights a non-classical asymmetric warfare alongside conventional warfare on the territory of eastern Ukraine.
What was launched against Ukraine was not a war in the traditional way, but an attack in unconventional ways that undermined and defeated the power of the state before the start of conventional operations. Several hours before missile launches or tanks moved on February 24, Microsoft's Threat Information Center (MSTIC) discovered a new round of offensive and destructive cyber-attacks directed against Ukraine's digital infrastructure. Microsoft immediately notified the Ukrainian government about the situation, including the identification of a new malware package (named FoxBlade) that had been used. In recent days, the company has also provided threat intelligence and defense suggestions to Ukrainians regarding attacks on a range of targets, including Ukrainian military institutions, factories, and many other government agencies. It also reported on recent cyber-attacks on Ukrainian civilian digital targets, including the financial sector, the agricultural sector, emergency response services, humanitarian aid efforts, and energy sector organizations. They also assured the Ukrainian government of the many recent cyber attempts to steal a wide range of data, including personally identifiable information related to health, insurance, and transportation, as well as other government data sets.
Since the previous Ukrainian crisis in 2014 and Moscow's intervention in Syria, Western countries have been able to get a clearer idea of the offensive capabilities of Russian technological systems and doctrines regarding asymmetric warfare. The Russians were able to see the effects they could have with their own means: jamming GPS signals, cell phones, data links from drones, radars, radio links, satellites, ground/air systems, etc. This alarmed the US Department of Defense (DoD) so much, that it made a report that Russia and China were showing great competence in the field of asymmetric warfare. The report attributed to analysts in the US Defense Department that the United States risks losing control of the battlefield if it does not control, for example, such electromagnetic spectrum weapons. The report states that if Russia uses its full technological potential, it will have advantages that guarantee its victory at the lowest cost and speed, because the technology will give it access to all information from all means of communication, which will allow it to know all the means used and deployed, and to determine the approximate locations and early warning. So it will know exactly the balance of forces, strengths and weaknesses of the target system. It can also deprive the means of navigation via satellite (GNSS is the term for the International Multi-tower Satellite System) and this directly harms guided weapons such as missiles, bombs and smart munitions, which greatly impedes the movement of forces (land, air and sea). Also, deprivation of all or part of the means of communication will have very serious consequences for the course of operations. The lack of information exchange from the forces in the field, and without intelligence analysis, it will not be possible to draw an operational situation, and thus the picture will be blurry for the target party. This not only can lead to a deprivation of tactical vision, but to give a wrong picture of the entire situation. Also, the denial of means of identification (such as the identification system of aircraft on the radar system IFF) to identify the friend or enemy, means that it is no longer possible to identify units with certainty, and this could cause the allied forces to clash with each other or shoot down One of their planes by mistake. Finally, the deprivation of all or part of the long-range detection means as well as the presence of jamming aircraft, ships, ground / air systems, surveillance radars, etc., renders the target country helpless. Because it means losing detection capabilities, thus losing the ability to alert and having to succumb to a strategic or tactical surprise without being able to respond because a number of weapon systems will also be neutralized.
This is the beginning of the was of the future, the asymmetric wars, the wars of the age that are decided by technology, science and comprehensive scientific research..
Source: different sources
