ABSTRACT
Like any other major power, Russia has become an efficient actor in the cyber-domain. Information operations and state-led propaganda play a primary role in Russian cyber warfare. This is not surprising, given the fact that state-sponsored disinformation has been in place as long as there have been State-actors. State-guided weaponisation of information has often been referred to by Western academics as ‘hybrid warfare’. State-led disinformation presents unique features. Today Russian disinformation campaigns can count on a wholly new set of tools. Social media platforms and the pro-government media environment provide them with a much higher level of discretion than the Soviet ones, making it more difficult to trace them back to government agencies. Intelligence agencies are not the only players in the Russian disinformation game. Evidence shows that the majority of the disinformation campaigns channelled through social media are pursued by entities that are not formally linked to the government.
