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Russian cyberattacks against NATO countries surged by 25 per cent in a year, according to a new analysis by Microsoft.
While Ukraine is still Russia’s primary target, the report found that the rest of the top 10 countries are all NATO members.
Twenty per cent of Russia’s cyberattacks targeted the United States, followed by the United Kingdom at 12 per cent and Germany at 6 per cent.
Belgium, Italy, Estonia, France, the Netherlands, and Poland were all targeted in 5 per cent or fewer of Russia’s cyberattacks.
The findings come amid rising tensions between Russia and the European Union. Earlier this month, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen accusedRussia of waging a “deliberate and targeted grey zone campaign” against Europe in the wake of drone incursions over its airspace, calling it “hybrid warfare”.
“This is not random harassment. It is a coherent and escalating campaign to unsettle our citizens, test our resolve, divide our Union, and weaken our support for Ukraine,” she told members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
The Microsoft analysis said that Russia’s shift to a broader group of targets over the past year “has put more organisations at risk of compromise,” mainly for cyber espionage, though it didn’t specify what that might look like.
It said 25 per cent of Russia’s cyberattacks were aimed at government agencies and 13 per cent each aimed at research groups and nonprofits or think tanks.
In NATO member states, these sectors are seen as having “intelligence value” for Russia amid the ongoing war with Ukraine, the report said.
Russians are simultaneously finding new targets for cyberattacks. Microsoft noted that it has seen a “modest increase” in the number of Russian actors targeting small businesses in Ukraine-allied countries, instead of focusing on more “conventional” targets like government agencies.
The report said Russian actors might see small businesses as easier “pivot points” that they can use to access larger organisations.