Russia and China devote more cyber forces to offensive operations than US, says new report

WASHINGTON — Russia and China have each dedicated significantly more military cyber forces to conducting cyber effects than the United States, according to research by a London-based think tank.

The International Institute for Strategic Studies’ Military Balance+ database, which evaluates global military trends, sought to provide a breakdown assessing the military cyber capabilities of these nations based mostly on active duty military forces with a responsibility for cyberspace operations (though some data was gathered on reservist units).

According to the report, 33% of Russia’s military cyber forces are focused on effects, compared to 18.2% of Chinese military forces and 2.8% of U.S. forces. This data was derived from the composition of principal cyber forces according to roles assigned to individual units.

Authors of the report clarified that “effects” generally refers to actions to deny, degrade, disrupt or destroy as well as those conducted by proxies in conjunction with a government actor. It can also include a range of other capabilities such as the ability to research vulnerabilities, write or use malware, and maintain command and control through exploits.

“Russia is a highly capable cyber power. Cyber capabilities are part of a broader framework of information operations, and strategic documents generally refer to cyber security under the rubric of ‘information security,’ ” the Military Balance report read.

In July 2021, Russia released an update to its National Security Strategy, devoting a section to information security and stressing the further development of military cyber forces and capabilities.

The IISS report noted that China has also shown significant improvements in its military cyber capabilities over the last decade, integrating offensive cyber operations into recent military exercises.

Russia also allots a significant amount of personnel to incident response, the report noted, with 80% of its forces dedicated to the mission. That is compared with 29% on the U.S. side and 9.1% on the Chinese side.

All three nations dedicated roughly the same proportion of forces to conducting cyber intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, hovering between 50% and 54%.

More In Cyber

New US Space Force jammers aim to disrupt China’s SATCOM signals

The Remote Modular Terminals, which disrupt adversary satellites by "yelling in their ear," as one official put it, are cleared for initial fielding,

Space Force must grow to counter China and Russia, lawmaker says

House Armed Services Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., said the service is not sized to meet increasing threats from China and Russia.

SpaceX launches rapid response GPS mission

The effort, dubbed Rapid Response Trailblazer, was meant to demonstrate the ability to quickly plan and launch a mission in around six months.

Space Command strategy aims to boost commercial role in operations

The updated strategy, approved in November, focuses on SPACECOM’s core tasks and how commercial space capabilities fit within those areas.

ULA eyes annual mods to turn rocket stage into space interceptor

The fast-moving vehicle would be highly maneuverable and could be used to tow satellites or for counterspace missions, ULA CEO Tory Bruno told reporters.