UK spy chief says Putin is losing information war in Ukraine -The Economist

Reuters

Published Aug 18, 2022 08:55PM ET

(Reuters) - Russia has failed to gain ground in cyberspace against Ukraine almost six months after its invasion of the country, the head of Britain's GCHQ intelligence service said on Friday.

Jeremy Fleming, the intelligence head, in an op-ed in The Economist, wrote that both countries have been using their cyber capabilities in the war in Ukraine.

"So far, president Putin has comprehensively lost the information war in Ukraine and in the West. Although that's cause for celebration, we should not underestimate how Russian disinformation is playing out elsewhere in the world," Fleming wrote.

"Just as with its land invasion, Russia's initial online plans appear to have fallen short. The country's use of offensive cyber tools has been irresponsible and indiscriminate."

Fleming said Russia had deployed WhisperGate malware to destroy and deface Ukrainian government systems.