Russian Strategy for Cyberspace

The document titled “Conceptual Views Regarding the Activity of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the Information Space”, written at the end of 2011, was published on the Defense Ministry’s website. . . . The document doesn’t mention Russia’s offensive operations in cyberspace. The concept has 3 main points: control, prevention and solution of cyber conflicts. Interestingly, Russian cyberwar ideologists do not rule out the possibility of using methods common for military conflicts in cyberspace. The document says “the escalation of a conflict in the cyberspace and its turn into a crisis gives the right to an individual or collective self-defense and the use of any means necessary that do not contradict the universally accepted norms and the principles of international law”. Another provision of the concept that may be regarded as an apologia of offensive operations touches upon cyber security forces on the territory of other states. The presence of the forces may be voluntary on the part of the state or “in accordance with international law.”