Politics, Economics, Social: Russia’s State-Led Cyber Espionage and Influence Operations

 

Whether it be the SolarWinds attack, the 2016 US election interference, or a number of other cyber operations over the past few years, there’s a growing perception/reality that Russia is increasingly flexing its cyber muscles internationally, using the lessons its learned through years of focused cyber-attacks and influence operations in Ukraine and other regional adversaries.  

 

While those familiar with Russian operations and thinking will tell you that Russia’s goals include sowing doubt in Democracy, sabotaging transatlantic cooperation between the US and its partners, and bolstering a perception that Russia remains a super power, the question is what does this all mean to companies, Western governments and even the average citizen?  What are the risks that a company/companies might be caught in the middle and be Russia’s next target(s). What’s the risk of escalation, such as a cyber incident crossing over into a real-world military or nuclear standoff? And how do we realistically stop these cyber influence operations?

This panel will discuss Russia’s recent operations, what their strategy is, presentable challenges and solutions, potential escalation concerns, and what the rest of the 2020’s could herald?