New Technologies in International Law / Tymofeyeva, Crhák et al.

6.1 V iolations of the I nternational L aw S tandards on C yber S ecurity in U kraine

By Agata Starkowska (University of Warsaw)

Introduction For almost two years, today’s international reality has been marked by one of the most notorious armed conflicts of the 21st century, the Russian-Ukrainian war. Having taken into account the data published in the global reports, we can provide that the total number of dead and wounded soldiers in Russia’s war against Ukraine has approached 500,000 so far. 691 The scale of the problem is further emphasised by the number of civi lians affected. All this does not enable us to adopt an indifferent attitude towards the war being waged today. The subject of this article was also prompted by the clear connection of Poland, the country of origin of the author of this publication, to the fate of the on going war. This observation is evidenced by the location of Poland near the border of the aggressor and defender, even in the immediate vicinity of the ongoing battles. Nevertheless, the most important factor prompting the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is the very nature of the war itself. Indeed, this war is an example of hybrid war in the broadest sense. This type of conflict eludes conventional operations because it contains an element of modernity abounding above all in technological and economic progress. For the purposes of this paper, the analysis carried out will refer to the thread of cyber-related breaches being an important element of hybrid war. The doctrine emphasises that Russia is one of the pioneers when it comes to carrying out cyber attacks and hybrid wars. 692 The origins of such operations by this country date back to the 1980s. The first known espionage cyber-attack carried out by Soviet services at the time, was the hacking of the computer system handling missile tests of Ronald Reagan’s flagship strategic defence. The operation became known in history as Star Wars, and was dated 10 September 1986. 693 Forthermore, a post-2016 investi gation found that it is likely that Russia also tried to influence the outcome in the US presidential election betweenHilary Clinton and Donald Trump. Attempts were made to influence US voters through social media and troll farms paid for by the Kremlin troll farms (including the St Petersburg-based Russian organisation Internet Research Agency). 694 The Russian-Ukrainian conflict therefore represents the next stage in Russia’s expan sion concerning cyberspace. It should be underlined that in the 21st century, Russia has 691 Górzyński O, ‘Ile osób zginęło na Ukrainie?’ ( Wszystkoconajwazniejsze , 18 August 2023) accessed 16 December 2023. 692 Gardocki S, Wrona J, ‘Russia’s use of cyberspace in hybrid conflicts in the light of Russian cyber security policy’ (2020) 2(38) Colloquium 33. 693 ’Imperium zła. Doktryna Regana wciąż aktualna?’ ( Historia dorzeczy , 9 March 2022) accessed 16 December 2023. 694 Gardocki S, Wrona J, ‘Russia’s use of cyberspace in hybrid conflicts in the light of Russian cyber security policy’ (2020) 2(38) Colloquium 33.

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