Russian cyber attacks. NATO advisor: We will become an easy target
Many European residents are afraid of Russia's ability to lead against us Cybernetic wars. Rightly?
Definitely yes. The Russians have very, very good hackers. Their advantage is that they have never stopped hacking. We slept for a long time: after the Cold War, a deep peace came and we never really built offensive abilities. The Russians continued, strengthened and systematized their actions.
Are we even able to conduct cyberwar, which involves manipulating information technology?
We don't have many attackers, maybe several hundred. We have much more defenders, several thousand.
Both of these numbers are very low compared to the number Bundeswehry. So what is the problem?
Very high -class hackers are needed because only they are able to attack deep system levels. Unfortunately, these hackers are currently extremely dear.
Meaning?
We are talking about initial salaries from 500,000 up to 700 thousand hole. (from 1.8 million to 2.5 million PLN) a year if they start working at Google or somewhere in the Silicon Valley. States are not able to compete with such amounts. The United States has a different model. They employ these people through arms companies such as Northrop Grumman.
On the other hand, we observe that a completely conventional war is fighting in Ukraine – almost like at the end of the 19th century. Why is so archaic?
This is due to the fact that cyberwar has a firepower comparable to the atomic bomb. We all have a huge amount of information technology and you can turn off a lot, even permanently – food supplies, electricity or water. And because the consequences would be catastrophic, it was agreed that it is better not to use it.
In this way, cyberwar became a tool for mutual deterrence.
How exactly does this form of deterrence work?
Before the start of the war, the so -called signaling. This means that the Russians once hack critical infrastructure in the West, and then the Americans once hack the critical infrastructure of the Russians. In this way, he signals that he is able to turn off each other. Everyone knows what this means. The Russians are in the same situation as us or the Chinese. All civil infrastructure is based on sensitive IT systems.
Continued article under video material
However, you can irritate each other and this is how it happens.
If you want to irritate Europeans, all you have to do is disrupt the flight of Mrs. Von der Leyen. The Russians are always trying to find out where the border is. Russians like to use so -called Spoofing GPS. They know it's annoying, but we will not enter their territory because of this.
What is GPS Spoofing?
It involves falsifying signals and sending false signals to aircraft.
How sensitive she is German economy?
In the past, we also carried out test attacks on the economy, starting from SAP, the software that unfortunately we all use. SAP is a kind of digital spine. If the SAP infrastructure is attacked, he encrypts all SAP data, and then throw away the key – which we demonstrated – many concerns will go bankrupt from day to day, because they will not know who works for them, what contracts they have signed, where their money, what taxes must pay. So you can delete all business data from day to day. This is a powerful weapon that can be used.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Beijing, September 3, 2025Sergey Bobylev / AFP
Do companies protect themselves effectively from this?
Some more, others, but it is impossible to defeat large military entities, such as the Russian state.
How dangerous is the life of politicians who are constantly in contact with the world using computers and smartphones?
Rather, a ministerial director is visited than the minister. Even more interesting is the situation in the army, at the Lieutenant Colonel level, because it is these people who actually prepare and implement decisions.
And the Federal Chancellor and his communication?
The federal chancellor is always interesting and is therefore high on the list.
Does it mean that the enemy is watching?
Definitely yes. As soon as there is a phone in the room, it is known that it is exposed.
How do you imagine the next World War?
It is possible that World War III will explode in a classic way, as we are currently observing in Ukraine. It would be so if everyone said: “OK, we will not wage atomic or cyber war now, because the consequences are terrible.” So let the tanks go to battle.
And will we voluntarily give up strategic atomic and cybernetic options?
They will be used when everything goes to the bottom anyway. Then everything will turn off: satellites, electrical power supply and of course communication so that nobody knows what was going on.
Does it mean you don't sleep peacefully?
I learned my restless sleep. I assume that the effect of deterrent to the Americans will take a while. However, if we, Europeans, are someday on each other, the situation will become difficult. Then we will become an easy prey for Russians and Chinese – unfortunately.
