Article Link –Russian Cyberattacks Against Ukraine Risk Crossing the Line Into Warfare

Russia may be holding off on a land invasion, but a growing list of cyberattacks against Ukraine has prompted concern that the online incursions might eventually cross into cyberwarfare. Earlier this week, the website of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense suffered from what appeared to be a distributed denial of service attack, where a bombardment of data requests overwhelms a site. The websites of two banks were also taken offline.

The attacks weren’t immediately attributed to Russia, but they follow a string of digital incursions in recent weeks that’ve been blamed on Ukraine’s neighbor. Those attacks defaced government websites and planted destructive malware on Ukrainian computer networks. Past attacks attributed to Russia but denied by that country have been even more destructive, shutting down power grids and other critical infrastructure.

Discussion Questions:

1. Identify three key takeaways from the article. What did you find most interesting?
2. What is cyberwarfare and how is it carried out?
3. Do you think other governments utilize cyberwarfare? Conduct research to find out other instances when it has been utilized.

Source: Bree Fowler, “www.cnet.com” February 19, 2022.