\n<\/p>\n
Russia launched a staggering number of destructive cyber attacks against Ukraine in the early days and weeks of its full-scale offensive that required digital security defenders to engage in \u201chand-to-hand combat in the cyber domain,\u201d Sandra Joyce, the executive vice president of global intelligence at Mandiant, said at Semafor\u2019s Securing the Digital Future event.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom a cyber defender\u2019s perspective, it was a dramatic back and forth,\u201d Joyce said on Tuesday. \u201cIt was a harrowing first days, weeks and months.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said that Russia used more wipers \u2014 destructive malware that if successfully deployed destroys user data \u2014 against Ukraine in the first four months of the war than Mandiant saw in the past eight years while supporting Ukraine\u2019s digital defenses.<\/p>\n
But Russia\u2019s tactics shifted, she said, when it became clear that Moscow would not succeed in quickly toppling Kyiv. Joyce said Russia\u2019s initial destructive tactics \u2014 which included targeting a civilian missile alert system \u2014 seemed designed to support a quick invasion. More than a year and a half since the large-scale invasion began, Ukraine is pressing forward with its counteroffensive.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always am surprised to hear that people think the cyber thing didn\u2019t happen because it certainly happened,\u201d Joyce said. \u201c[The Russians] weren\u2019t successful in their ultimate aim, but they did show a tremendous capability when it comes to destructive attacks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dmitri Alperovitch, executive chairman of Silverado Policy Accelerator, said during Semafor\u2019s event that the Russians historically have been effective at intelligence collection but \u201cquite atrocious\u201d at actually analyzing and disseminating the intelligence they gather.<\/p>\n
He pointed to the news Tuesday morning that Ukraine had used a long-range missile system quietly delivered by the U.S. to conduct a surprise strike on military airfields in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine. The strike using the missile system \u2014 known as ATACMS \u2014 destroyed<\/a> multiple Russian helicopters.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been advertised for weeks, if not months, that ATACMS were likely going to be sent to Ukraine, there was a lot of speculation about the targeting of this very airfield,\u201d Alperovitch said. \u201cAnd yet, the Russians just left them out there on the airfield.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n