How Russian Intelligence operatives have attacked Ukraine in cyberspace: Interview with Ukrainian Security Service

How Russian Intelligence operatives have attacked Ukraine in cyberspace: Interview with Ukrainian Security Service

Author: Silverado Policy Accelerator August 21, 2023 Duration: 52:17
In this joint Geopolitics Decanted and Risky Business feature interview, Dmitri Alperovitch and Patrick Gray talk to Illia Vitiuk, the Head of the Department of Cyber and Information Security of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) about the cyber dimension to Russia’s invasion. From turning off Ukraine’s power grid with a cyber attack in 2015, to the Viasat satellite communications hack in 2022, Russia’s intelligence services are world renowned for executing creative destructive cyber campaigns. Despite this, after a year and a half of Russia waging war on Ukraine its power grid is up, its telcos are functioning and its banks are still processing transactions. How has Ukraine been able to withstand Russia’s onslaught in the cyber domain? Illia Vitiuk joins us to reveal insights into how Russian intelligence services are operating in Ukraine, and how the SBU is countering them.

Hosted by Dmitri Alperovitch and presented by the Silverado Policy Accelerator, Geopolitics Decanted offers a deep and nuanced examination of the forces shaping our world. This isn't about quick headlines; it's a podcast dedicated to patient, detailed analysis and substantive conversations with leading experts. Each episode distills complex international issues, moving beyond superficial narratives to explore the underlying strategies, technologies, and economic instruments at play. You'll hear focused discussions on ongoing conflicts like the war in Ukraine, the multifaceted competition between major powers, and the evolving tools of statecraft, from economic sanctions and export controls to cybersecurity threats and the global race for semiconductor supremacy. Geopolitics Decanted is for those who feel that understanding global affairs requires more than sound bites-it demands context, historical perspective, and a willingness to engage with the granular details that truly define geopolitical shifts. Through these in-depth interviews and Alperovitch's own commentary, the podcast provides listeners with a clearer, more comprehensive framework for making sense of an increasingly interconnected and contested global landscape.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 79

Geopolitics Decanted with Dmitri Alperovitch
Podcast Episodes
Slicing the Sausage: Ukraine’s Upcoming Counteroffensive [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:07
In this podcast Dmitri Alperovitch interviews Sergii Grabskyi, a Reserve Colonel in the Ukrainian military, about Ukraine’s upcoming counteroffensive. Michael Kofman, Research Program Director in the Russia Studies Progr…
How Russia Engineered the Perfect Gas Crisis [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:04
Dmitri Alperovitch talks with energy markets and russian oil and gas sector expert Sergey Vakulenko (formerly with Gazprom Neft, Royal Dutch Shell and IHS Markit) about how Russia is engineering an energy crisis in Europ…
Why Giving Ukraine F-16s Makes Sense [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:10
Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Retired UK Air Marshall Greg Bagwell, former Deputy Commander of Operations at RAF Air Command, about how the West can overcome training, logistical, transportation, maintenance, repair and…
The War of Attrition: Analysis of the war in Ukraine (June 19, 2022) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:31
June 19, 2022: Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Michael Kofman (Research Program Director in the Russia Studies Program at the Center for Naval Analysis) about the new developments in the war in Ukraine on Twitter Spaces. T…
The Long War: Analysis of the war in Ukraine (June 5, 2022) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:53
June 5, 2022: Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Michael Kofman (Research Program Director in the Russia Studies Program at the Center for Naval Analysis) and Rob Lee (Senior Fellow at the Eurasia Program of the Foreign Polic…
How Moskva Was Sunk: Analysis of the war in Ukraine (May 8, 2022) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:10
May 8, 2022: Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Michael Kofman (Research Program Director in the Russia Studies Program at the Center for Naval Analysis) and US Navy Capt. Chris Carlson (Ret.) about the new developments in th…