Cyberattacks: A New Weapon in the Economic Warfare Toolkit? A Study of Russian Cyberattacks on the European Energy Sector in 2022

Abstract

Principally, this dissertation seeks to answer the question of whether cyberattacks serve as a new coercive tool in contemporary economic statecraft. This comprehensive analysis of the cyberattacks threatening the energy sector in the year 2022 serves as proof that cyber economic warfare is not merely a theoretical concept but a very real danger. Russia's actions during this period have demonstrated the potential havoc that can be wreaked upon nations through the strategic manipulation of their economies and how this can be achieved. By zooming out and seeing the bigger picture, the attacks cumulatively spell out a common trend - the weaponisation of cyberattacks for economic warfare.