CIA Spies and Influencers Take On Cyber - AFCEA Signal
2023-09-08 10:58 (EST) - Nuray Taylor
Whether it’s to detect ransomware attacks or warn the international community of planned adversarial attacks, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) relies heavily on cyber capabilities.
Moderated by John DeSimone, president of cybersecurity, intelligence and services at Raytheon, the day-two fireside chat at the 14th annual Billington Cybersecurity Conference featured CIA Deputy Director David Cohen.
The event is being held at the Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center in Washington, D.C., September 5-8.
Speaking about the ongoing war in Europe, the deputy director said there was some surprise in Russia’s ineffective cyber attacks. The reason for that was Ukraine’s preparedness and collaboration with the United States and allied partners, as well as members of the private sector, following the 2014 invasion.
“The other piece is,” Cohen continued, “many of the [Russian] soldiers who were there on the border of Ukraine had no idea that they were about to invade.”
Though cyber—and physical—attacks, as well as an effort to increase cyber capabilities, have been an ongoing threat from the Russian military, it’s important to remember that this war is not one-sided.
“One thing that we have also witnessed is that the Russians have been on the receiving end of a fair amount of cyber attacks being directed at them from a range of private sector actors,” Cohen explained. The attacks have targeted Russian railway systems, government agencies, TV and radio broadcasts, as well as financial industry members.
Recalling a topic mentioned at this year’s Intelligence & National Security Summit, the deputy director spoke on the CIA’s social media efforts.
“We released today another recruiting video,” he announced. The video, which is in Russian, was publicized on various social media channels and is directed at disaffected, disgruntled and disgusted Russians who want to make a difference, Cohen said.
“The cyber tie-in is that as part of this video, we provide our dark web address,” Cohen continued. “You can use [the address] to get to us in a secure fashion if you are one of these Russians with a conscience who wants to volunteer.”
