Beyond Defense: New Report Exposes How Russian Cyber Firms Aid the Kremlin’s War

According to CNA, the report “Hacking and Firewalls Under Siege: Russia’s Cyber Industry During the War on Ukraine” argues that private Russian cybersecurity firms are deeply entwined with the Kremlin’s cyber operations, offering both defensive and offensive capabilities. It notes that the Russian cyber web is complex and includes state-encouraged patriotic hackers, independent developers, and state-recruited groups, with private firms playing a critical role alongside the FSB, SVR and GRU.

The study examines three firms—Kaspersky, Security Code, and Positive Technologies—to illustrate the spectrum of cooperation between the Kremlin and private industry, detailing how Kaspersky has been sanctioned by the United States and banned from federal government systems, while expanding into other regions. Security Code is described as serving primarily within Russia with a defensive focus, supplying cryptographic solutions and training for critical information infrastructure.

Positive Technologies is linked to Russian intelligence operations and reportedly supports offensive capabilities, including reverse engineering Western technologies and turning vulnerabilities into exploits, with its annual hacking conference acting as a recruitment ground for the FSB and GRU. The Kremlin’s use of private firms, CNA argues, provides plausible deniability and complicates attribution for Western responses.