“Information Troops” - A Russian Cyber Command?

Appraisals of Russian military performance during the armed conflict with Georgia in August 2008 noted, among other deficiencies, poor performance in Information Warfare (IW). This led to calls in informed commentary for the creation of dedicated "Information Troops" within the Russian armed forces, whose duties would include what we would define as cyber operations. This stemmed from a perception in parts of the Russian Armed Forces that the "information war" against Georgia had been lost. No such entity has appeared in the Russian order of battle, but the public discussion and military comment is informative. Prospects for the appearance of "Information Troops" have been discounted both officially by the FSB and privately by Russian military officers. Arguments put forward against a unit of this kind include the unsuitability of servicemen for advanced cyber operations, and the ready availability and deniability of talented civilian volunteers. But at the same time Russia's EW troops are seeing their role and profile evolve in a manner which suggests they may be acquiring at least some IW capability. The Russian approach to IW differs from our own, and there are specific perceived internet vulnerabilities which further affect the Russian approach to cyber operations, and prompt Russian pushes for treaty arrangements governing cyberspace. This paper draws on unclassified open-source media and interviews with serving Russian military officers to consider the Russian military view of cyber operations as a subset of information war, and the prospects for creation of "information troops" (whether given this name or not) in the context of ongoing Russian military transformation. Informal links with volunteer and co-opted cyber forces are also considered.