The Awful Shadow of Some Unseen Power: War in Cyber Space

Cyber offence and defence have been visible in multiple forms in Russia’s war in Ukraine, spanning the civil and military, and the public and private sectors. The conflict in the cyber domain has been complex and often surprising. The expected large-scale Russian cyberattacks on critical functions such as government, finance, and energy distribution either did not materialise or were defeated. But elsewhere in the cyber domain, intelligence from messaging applications has been gathered and used for targeting, privately owned satellite internet has become critical infrastructure, and widespread disinformation campaigns have spread confusion and distrust through social media.

Speakers

André Barrinha

Associate Professor in International Relations at University of Bath

Scott Carpenter

Managing Director of Jigsaw

Ulrike Franke

Senior Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations

Flemming Splidsboel Hansen

Senior Researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies

Lucas Kello

Associate Professor of International Relations at Oxford University

Moderator

Teri Schultz

Freelance NATO/EU reporter for NPR and DW

What are the emerging trends in cyberspace that may impact war outcomes? How can the information space be protected? What opportunities and challenges does the cyber domain present to war-fighters? Who are the key and new actors in this domain and how might they be influenced?

“The awful shadow of some unseen Power
Floats though unseen among us.”

Percy Bysshe Shelley, Hymn to Intellectual Beauty (1816)