World's First Hybrid War in Ukraine Holds Important Cyber Lessons

The Ukraine-Russia war will go down as a first, a true hybrid of kinetic and cyber warfare, which will be studied for a long time and is having and will have earthshaking consequences.

"What we have today is a hybrid war that is beginning to show its influence not only on the battlefield but throughout the entire world," says Colonel Cedric Leighton, U.S. Air Force (Retired), CNN Military Analyst, and Chairman of Cedric Leighton Associates. "It's a conflict that really is frankly quite astounding in the way that it's played out."

Col. Leighton will present a deep dive on this topic during the SecureWorld Midwest virtual conference on November 3, 2022. His closing keynote provides eye-opening details about the cyber war between Ukraine and Russia now that it's eight months in.

He details the war aims of Russia, including destroying the Ukrainian government, society, population, and the country as a whole. Interestingly enough, Leighton points out that Russian President Vladimir Putin idolizes Peter the Great, who conquered a lot of territory, including much of which is present day Ukraine. He says he believes Putin misread history and is trying to apply an 18th Century solution to a 21st Century situation.

Col. Leighton has some real admiration for the Ukraine government and the host of supporters across the world—including 200,000 InfoSec practitioners aiding in Ukraine's cyber efforts—for not just battling Russia, but winning in many instances.

"They are really doing some things that are quite unique, because one of the things they've been able to exploit is the fact the Russian cyberattacks are not tied to kinetic operations," he said. "The fact they haven't been tied to kinetic operations has made it possible for Ukraine to do things like this (shows picture of a bombed-out Russian tank) where they go after pieces of Russian military equipment, individual Russian networks, and they've been able to cause some damage."

What's next? Col. Leighton believes Russia will continue attempts to destabilize critical Ukrainian IT infrastructure; Ukraine will further exploit Russian cyber vulnerabilities; and better integration of cyber and kinetic operations by both sides will occur.

To watch the full presentation, check out the event's agenda and register today. Attendees can earn 5 CPE credits.

Some of the other presentation highlights include:

• Stephen Dougherty, Financial Fraud Investigator, Global Investigative Operations Center, U.S. Secret Service, speaking on "BEC Attacks, Crypto, and the Investigative Powers of the Secret Service"
• Kathleen Moriarty, CTO, Center for Internet Security, talking about "Transforming Information Security for Businesses of All Sizes"
• A fireside chat on "Things I Wish I Had Known About Cybersecurity Before I Got into a Leadership Role," featuring Britney Kennedy Hommertzheim, BISO, Cardinal Health; Sherry Callahan, CISO, Dairy Farmers of America; Sam Masiello, CISO, The Anschutz Corporation; and Glenn Kapetansky, CSO, Trexin Consulting.
• And 9 more informative sessions