Hacking Efforts Aim to Compile Extensive Information on Ukraine’s Population for Potential Occupation
While Russia’s cyberattacks on Ukraine have caused less damage than expected, the true focus of its digital assault is often overlooked: data collection. Ahead of its February 2022 invasion, Russia breached key Ukrainian agencies, including the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which oversees critical security forces like the police and border patrol. In addition, a month before the invasion, Russian hackers targeted a national database of automobile insurance policies in a diversionary cyberattack that also defaced various Ukrainian websites.
These hacks, combined with earlier data theft, have likely provided Russia with an extensive database of information on Ukraine’s citizens. This could allow Russian forces to identify individuals who may resist an occupation, potentially targeting them for internment or worse. Military analysts, such as Jack Watling from the Royal United Services Institute, highlight the utility of such information for an occupying force, with details like the cars Ukrainians drive and where they live providing a strategic advantage.
As the digital age progresses, the manipulation of information becomes a key tool for social control, a tactic already evidenced by China’s repression of the Uyghur minority. Ukrainian officials were unsurprised that, in the lead-up to war, Russia’s priority was to amass information on its citizens, preparing for a potential occupation.
