A Russian representative to the United Nations (U.N.), Vassily Nebenzia accused Western democracies that they were being one-sided and influencing public opinions by making them think negatively about Russia. He called it a “Russophobic Information Campaign.”
At a U.N. Security Council briefing on Monday, Nebenzia said that the West is shutting down Russia’s alternative views and constructing “a cyber totalitarianism” against his country.
He said:
“States that call themselves a ‘community of democracies’ in fact are building a cyber totalitarianism.”
Not only that, Nebenzia also went on to criticize Ukraine as it allowed a volunteer cyber army to defend itself against Russian false news online and also targeted Belarusian and Russian facilities.
A Ukrainian official stated that the cyber army consists of cyber specialists, developers, designers, marketers and copywriters.
Nebenzia also said:
“Colleagues, you are creating uncontrollable cyber troops that will master their skills in Ukraine by attacking Russia, but will not stop at that.”
According to Nebenzia by “militarizing digital domain” Western countries are practically preparing for a nuclear war to follow.
He said:
“Once again, I call you to think of the danger of dragging the world into a cyber confrontation that is no less dangerous than [the] usage of WMDs.”
He demanded that the West “demilitarize information space.” He also said that Russia will not take it lightly and retaliate against any cyberattack that came at it.
Previously, many western countries including U.S., have condemned Russia as it launched destructive cyberattacks against Ukraine, which as of late has become the testing ground for Russia’s cyber ops.
Earlier this month, the U.S. and the European Union (EU) confirmed that Russia was behind a cyberattack that targeted Ukraine’s satellite network in late February.
Earlier this month, the European Union (EU) and the US reaffirmed that Russia was responsible for the cyberattack that targeted Ukraine’s network satellite at the end of February.
According to the statement issued by European Council, the hack took place an hour before the invasion. As a result, it disrupted several public authorities and businesses and affected the communication channels hugely.
“This unacceptable cyberattack is yet another example of Russia’s continued pattern of irresponsible behavior in cyberspace, which also formed an integral part of its illegal and unjustified invasion of Ukraine.”
The EU, U.S., and other allies have joined hands in order to dissuade and stop Russia from such similar actions in the future against Ukraine.
On the other hand, experts have warned that Russia will be deploying its cyber arsenal during the U.S. midterm elections. It will take up different forms of cyberattacks, such as disinformation campaigns and hacking the votes and elections.
