ABSTRACT
Cyberspace operations have, over the last decade, become associated with hybrid threats. The Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, was accompanied by what can best be described as a massive campaign of cyberattacks directed toward Ukrainian society. This chapter investigates the relation between cyberspace operations and hybrid threats, using the first year of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine as the empirical case. Rich descriptions of Russian cyber warfare and Ukrainian cyber defenses are presented based on a document study of relevant cybersecurity reports. The analysis of the data shows that the cyber warfare—despite the conventional war in Ukraine—can be viewed as a parallel battlefield existing in the gray zone between peace and war. Based on the study, the claim is that cyberspace operations and cyber warfare are best understood within the frame of hybrid threats. One important implication for national preparedness is that there is no fundamental difference between the preparations needed to prepare for peacetime cyberspace operations and cyberspace operations in war.
