The Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity Nexus: Taking Stock of the European
Digital technologies increasingly complicate and transform present-day conflicts. The current war between Russia and Ukraine, for instance, is also played out in cyberspace, involving multiple public and private actors. This ranges from the formation of an IT army of Ukrainian volunteers, to the intensification of Kremlin-backed malicious cyber operations, to Western allied nations offering Ukraine assistance across “the full spectrum; offensive, defensive, [and] information operations.”
Such developments matter as they are consistent with a longer history of cyber conflicts running alongside and feeding into kinetic operations. Even if the conflict’s cyber dimension is, as noted by experts, presently limited, there are serious concerns about the destabilization of the international security environment, including high risks of escalation. These risks are also exacerbated by the potential spillover of cyberattacks targeting Ukraine into other countries, which could cause systemic ripples in cyberspace and beyond. It was such cross-border effects that led the European Union (EU) to issue a declaration on May 10, strongly condemning the malicious cyber activity conducted by the Russian Federation, which targeted the satellite KA-SAT network owned by VIASAT and facilitated the military invasion of Ukraine.