Cyber Training Ground in Practice
The first world war brought the use of tanks and war gases. The second, the atomic bomb. Russia's invasion of Ukraine became a testing ground for digital warfare solutions
Dmytro is wearing VR goggles and holding a plastic controller in his hand. If it were not for the military camouflage, you might think he were starring in a film about a relocation to the digital world of the Metaverse. Nothing of the sort. Dmytro is dealing with real problems. His unit is trying to push the Russians out of the territory they have occupied. The drone he controls is about to drop a small grenade on a Russian tank. Dmytro is the protagonist of a France24 report on how these devices are changing the face of war.
The use of combat drones or small unmanned aircraft is nothing new. They have been in use since the Americans started deploying them in large numbers in antiterrorist operations after the 9/11 attacks. Later on, they became popular all over the Middle East and are manufactured in Turkey and Iran, among others. In Ukraine, these unmanned military aircraft are being used by both sides of the conflict. Dmytro is not controlling a professional military drone, though. He is steering a small, inexpensive device used by civilians to take bird’s eye view photographs during times of peace.
The DJI Mavic 3 costs USD 1,700 and flies at 30 km at a top speed of 60 km/h. It can stay in the air for just over 40 minutes. It is enough to locate the enemy. And to transport a grenade over a tank. Even if the device is subsequently destroyed or runs out of battery, the calculation is simple: a few thousand euros is enough to cause the Russians to sustain losses amounting to several hundred thousand.
Remote-controlled weapons are the modern-day Molotov cocktail - simple in design, cheap, and easy to use. Without a doubt, the unconventional use of drones will not go away anytime soon. As will be the case with many other technologies that have been tried and tested in combat in Ukraine this past year. Its authorities argue that where technology meets public services and the military, Ukraine intends to wear the leader’s yellow jersey.
State in the Cloud
Every Ukrainian can remotely experience what Dmytro is going through, owing to the eBayraktar app, which lets you play a game of… Russian tank destruction. This is meant to de-stress the public and lift the Ukrainian spirit, says Mikhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation. The eBayraktar is just a small fragment of the ministry-built application called Diia. The smartphone app launched in 2019 was supposed to serve the purpose of a virtual document wallet of sorts and a platform that allows access to the virtual Town Hall. But the app has proven itself in wartime conditions, and it is difficult to point to a more comprehensive and functional government service in our region today. The Ukrainians themselves as they head west, are surprised to learn that similar solutions do not exist in the countries they pass through. In Diia, it has always been possible, for example, to register the birth of a child, and now also to report war losses, apply for a displaced persons' allowance or use remote learning opportunities. It is also used by the government to conduct status surveys, which are a cross between an opinion poll and a referendum. The app is already used by more than 18 million Ukrainian citizens.
As was found in an interview with DGP by Janusz Cieszyński, Secretary of State at the Prime Minister’s Chancellery, Poland has contributed to this success. Our country has developed a data centre operating beyond the borders of the invaded country. Where exactly? This information is confidential.
Interestingly, Ukrainians were very quick to return to using cloud services, including the British cloud service operated by Microsoft. “One undisputed advantage of this solution is that a data centre like this will not be bombed or struck with a missile”, explains dr Łukasz Olejnik, independent researcher and privacy consultant, author of the book The Philosophy of Cybersecurity [Filozofia cyberbezpieczeństwa]. Other countries are only working on developing such solutions.
The solutions proposed by our eastern neighbours have, incidentally, become an inspiration for many. Estonia is currently launching its own application for state administration. The mRiik app is currently in the testing stage and will permit users to view and use their digital ID card, driving licence, and passport and gain access to some government services. The public roll-out of the app is expected mid-year. As Fedorov reported, the Ukrainians shared with the Estonians not only the source code but also the graphic design of their native app.
In Poland, the Ukrainian app has served as inspiration for the authorities to develop our very own e-service outlet, namely the mObywatel app. After the breakout of the war, the Polish app can also be used by refugees. A Polish version of the Ukrainian app, Diia.pl, has been launched as well. It is the first-ever digital residence permit card used in the European Union permitting its users to travel within the Schengen zone without restrictions. It has already been downloaded by more than 80,000 people.
A Spy With a Smartphone
The JeWoroh chatbot is part of the Diia app and allows any citizen to become part of Ukraine's military intelligence. The robot can be notified of the movements of troops, the location of Russian equipment, and alleged confidants. In fact, this has created a problem in recognising who is a civilian today. Indeed, Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Convention stipulates that civilians do not enjoy protection if they participate directly in armed activities, and this is how intelligence activities can be interpreted.
As found by US periodical Wired, the Ukrainian authorities ought to clearly communicate the consequences of using the app. These include Russian hunts for civilian informants who report intelligence information via their smartphones.
There is much more than just the app. At the very beginning of the war, Mykhailo Fedorov announced the creation of a cyber-army made up of IT specialists. In the first few days, more than 230,000 people signed up for the project to carry out e.g. DDoS attacks (from multiple computers simultaneously - ed.) on Russian websites. The idea was to flood them with so much traffic that they became inaccessible. The Ukrainians have developed a special tool for volunteers to do this. By mid-2022, the authorities had report 400 successful operations. Among them was the disruption of the International Economic Forum held in June in St Petersburg. Because of this, Russian President Vladimir Putin's speech had to be delayed.
However, this is where doubts arise. As noted by the CyberDEfence24 site, accepting volunteers may end up being infiltrated by real offenders. Or Russian hackers who can gain insider knowledge about Ukrainian methods of operations and break into Ukrainian systems.
Plagued by Russian hacking attacks, Ukraine naturally also has a professional cyber-military. The need to establish such units is evident in other countries as well; in fact, this issue had already been put under discussion at NATO back in 2016. At one recent NATO summit, it was pointed out that cyberspace is a regular operational domain tantamount to land, water, air and air space. In Poland, the launch of the Cyber Defence Forces was announced two weeks before the Russian invasion. The formation took three years to build, and it is headed by General Karol Molenda.
Cryptofinancing
Ukrainians are definitely keeping up with the latest digital trends. They have made good use of cryptocurrencies, among others. Ukraine ranks third in the world in terms of the highest capital investments in these assets.
“Cryptocurrencies are very efficient, especially where the banking system could be subject to disruptions”, explains prof. Krzysztof Piech, Head of the Blockchain Technology Centre at Lazarski University.
This is true. Because cryptocurrencies are virtual money, there is no problem with taking it with you when you have to flee the country. It will evaporate when hackers from a hostile state attack the banking system. It also allows for fast and charge-free money transfers. This proved to be critically important when Ukraine was looking for a way to escape Russian pressure even before the war.
Ukraine had to face, among other measures, Russian pressure on payment systems. One example of such hostile activities was the case with PayPal, which blocked a crowdfunding campaign to finance a face recognition system in eastern Ukraine. It was supposed to serve the purpose of identifying the members of the Wagner Group. The Myrotvorets Centre, which collaborated with the Ukrainian secret services and investigated crimes against national security, switched to cryptocurrencies at the time.
After the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the country’s government set up official e-wallets and asked for donations to support of the Ukrainian army. Funds were donated more than 120,000 times in the first month. Although the sum collected was not high compared to the donations made in traditional currencies, representatives of the Ukrainian government expressly said that if it were not for cryptocurrencies, many of the donations would not have made it to Ukraine. The reason behind this was that money transfers sent to Ukrainian entities were treated as potentially risky by banks and were stopped and refunded to the senders.
The Ukrainians also attempted to capitalise on the NFT fad. An NFT is an image, sound or video that can be swapped with and sold to other users through special exchanges. Their value is encoded in blockchain technology. Ukrainian tokens created a virtual war museum - a gallery of sorts featuring artwork related to events on the frontline. All proceeds raised would go towards helping civilians and retrofitting the army.
In particular, Ukraine also experienced negative consequences of its reliance on crypto assets. When the US cryptocurrency exchange FTX collapsed in November 2022, there were accusations among Republicans and the US media supporting them that it was a link in the transfer of money from the federal budget to the Democratic Party campaign. Donations were allegedly flowing through Ukrainian cryptocurrency accounts specifically on the FTX exchange. However, the Ukrainian government has denied any involvement in this alleged procedure.
Without the Internet, Everything Will End
For all these innovative solutions to work, one thing is indispensable, namely the Internet. Its supply is one of the issues that will change drastically after the invasion. Before 24 February, the name ‘Starlink’ was primarily known to new tech aficionados. The service it denoted was to play a crucial role in the war to come. It is a system of satellites operated by the SpaceX company. They are integrated with receivers and enable online communication. The key component Starlink allows drones to be moved directly over enemy positions and enables the operation of civilian infrastructure. The problem was that the owner of the company is the unpredictable and moody billionaire Elon Musk who is considering shutting down the system, for the nth time already. Ukrainian users have begun receiving information that the terms and conditions of the service only allow civilian use.
Musk is not happy that his system is being used in combat. This is what happened in late December when Ukraine attacked two Russian military bases located hundreds of kilometres away from Ukraine, far into Russian territory. The attack was carried out using modified drones controlled via an online connection. As arises from the businessman’s reaction published on Twitter, Musk fears that such events might only intensify the existing conflict that could eventually turn into World War III. In addition, the Russians threatened to destroy the orbiting satellites.
Those who have been following the Ukrainian conflict may have felt déjà vu from the start. Last September, Musk considered disconnecting Ukraine from Starlink but ended up extending partial funding for data transmission. The negotiations he had with the Pentagon helped. Will this scenario repeat itself this time? It is hard to say.
In all likelihood, one can assume that the network infrastructure will always be of critical importance, such as roads and electric energy. The management of the latter two is not handed over to moody billionaires. This is why more countries are entering the race for their own satellite systems. One of the players is the EU, and the Council and the European Parliament announced plans to establish a secure EU communications programme and launch a constellation of satellites by 2027. The IRIS system is expected to cost EUR 2.4 billion and provide the EU with strategic autonomy. In the future, the satellites will make the Internet available not only within the EU. For the time being, the European Council wants the system to be operational in Africa and Antarctica as well. ©℗
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