US and UK Secretly Sent Cybersecurity Experts to Kyiv, NYT Reports

Cyberattacks against Ukraine's infrastructure and government could become the next form of aggression, the publication believes.

The US and UK have secretly sent cyber warfare experts to Ukraine to better prepare the country for what they believe could be the next step by Russian President Vladimir Putin — cyberattacks targeting the power grid, the banking system and other critical components of Ukraine's economy and government. This is reported, citing sources, by The New York Times.

According to US intelligence assessments cited by the publication, Russia's goal is to make President Volodymyr Zelensky look incompetent and defenseless and possibly provide a pretext for an invasion.

US officials and experts say Russia's cyber activity has intensified over the past month, while public attention remains focused on the buildup of troops near Ukraine's borders.

Dmitri Alperovich, head of Silverado Policy Accelerator, a new research group in Washington, believes Putin sees cyberattacks as “preparing the battlefield.”

Officials speaking to the newspaper believe that inflicting damage on Ukrainian infrastructure may be Putin's best hope of achieving his main goal: toppling the Ukrainian government and replacing it with a puppet regime.

A cyber operation remains attractive to Putin compared with a full-scale military operation, because Russia can act behind a thin veil of denial. Over the past decade, Putin has shown that even the thinnest cover is sufficient, as with the denial of the Russian army's involvement in fighting against Ukraine in Donbas.

The calculation, as one senior intelligence official put it, is that such an attack would not require Putin to occupy the country, after which Russia could face sanctions.

US officials declined to describe the cyber teams that were sent to Ukraine. The Biden administration's statement only says, “we have long supported Ukraine's efforts to strengthen its cyber defenses and improve its cyber resilience.”

Mike Gallagher, a Republican from Wisconsin, said the United States should try to prevent a cyberattack on Ukraine by making clear that it would provoke a decisive response.

Mike Gallagher
Republican congressman from the United States

We need to prepare our own cyber response. We have very powerful cyber weapons that we could use against Putin if he decides to go further. We may seem divided, but we have many options to prevent this from escalating into a full-scale crisis.

Officials told the publication that the United States is considering a larger deployment, including resources from US Cyber Command.

A British government representative said the assistance provided by Britain and its allies is defensive in nature.

In previous cyberattacks on Ukraine, Russian operatives presented the attacks as the work of criminal groups.