{"id":31838,"date":"2021-02-08T20:19:23","date_gmt":"2021-02-08T20:19:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2021\/02\/08\/russia-iran-cooperation-poses-challenges-for-us-cyber-strategy-global-norms\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T18:23:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T18:23:41","slug":"russia-iran-cooperation-poses-challenges-for-us-cyber-strategy-global-norms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/commentary\/2021\/02\/08\/russia-iran-cooperation-poses-challenges-for-us-cyber-strategy-global-norms\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia-Iran cooperation poses challenges for US cyber strategy, global norms"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Russia and Iran inked<\/a> an agreement last month on information security, a term that in Russian strategic doctrine<\/a> encompasses not only cyber but information and communications technology (ICT) more broadly. Such cooperation will help these authoritarian regimes to continue suppressing internal dissent and to expand joint efforts to counter the Western goal of preserving an open and free internet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According<\/a> to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the deal will allow Russia and Iran \u201cto coordinate [their] activities given the growing importance of cyber issues and their increasing impact on\u201d both \u201cinternational relations\u201d and \u201csituations in various countries.\u201d Andrei Krutskikh, Moscow\u2019s lead diplomat on information security, elaborated<\/a> that the agreement stipulates broad cybersecurity cooperation, including coordination of actions, exchange of technologies, training of specialists, and coordination at the United Nations and other international organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Calling the deal \u201ca milestone\u201d in Russian-Iranian cyber cooperation, Iran\u2019s Foreign Ministry said<\/a> that the agreement envisions \u201cinternational cooperation including detection\u201d of cyber intrusions and \u201ccoordination \u2026 to ensure national and international security.\u201d This statement suggests that Moscow and Tehran may share intelligence about U.S. cyber operations, posing new challenges for U.S. Cyber Command as it seeks to \u201cdefend forward<\/a>\u201d against foreign cyber threats. Moreover, stronger Iranian defenses may complicate America\u2019s ability to use cyber operations<\/a> to respond<\/a> to Iranian aggression as the Trump administration reportedly<\/a> did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last week\u2019s agreement follows a preliminary Russian-Iranian cyber deal<\/a> in 2015, which the head of Iran\u2019s Civil Defense Organization said<\/a> was necessary because the two countries face common enemies in cyberspace. In 2017, Moscow and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding<\/a> for cooperation on ICT-related issues, including \u201cinternet governance, network security,\u201d and \u201cinternational internet connection.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the new agreement, Tehran stated, the two countries will cooperate against \u201ccrimes committed with the use of\u201d ICT, which these authoritarian regimes define as including political dissent. As with Tehran-Beijing cooperation<\/a> on Iran\u2019s national internet, Tehran will likely seek to learn from Moscow\u2019s efforts to develop the Russian surveillance state<\/a> and so-called \u201csovereign internet<\/a>.\u201d The latter is designed to expand Moscow\u2019s censorship and monitoring<\/a> capabilities and enable it to \u201cunplug<\/a>\u201d connections to the global internet, which Russian President Vladimir Putin has called<\/a> \u201ca CIA project.\u201d During 2019 and 2020 working<\/a> group meetings<\/a> on ICT cooperation, for example, Moscow offered to help Iran emulate Russia\u2019s Smart City<\/a> project, which allows authorities to track citizens through technologies such as facial recognition \u2014 something Moscow specifically offered to provide to Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tehran will also likely seek insights \u2014 and potentially technology \u2014 from Russia as both nations seek to reduce their dependence on Western technology. In 2016, the countries agreed<\/a> to cooperate on \u201cdemonopolizing software\u201d to end \u201cunilateral Western domination\u201d in the field. For example, Iran may be interested in a Russian alternative<\/a> to Windows and in Russia\u2019s \u201cMyOffice\u201d product, which allows<\/a> for local data storage. In 2017, Moscow offered<\/a> to provide Tehran with Russian servers built on Russian processors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new agreement also builds on existing collaboration in the information sphere. In 2018, at Tehran\u2019s initiative<\/a>, the two sides established a bilateral committee on media cooperation, aimed at combating what Tehran\u2019s delegation head has called<\/a> Western \u201cmedia terrorism.\u201d The committee<\/a> works on issues such as exchanges of journalists, mutual provision of favorable media coverage, coproduction<\/a> of content, countering<\/a> Western media narratives<\/a>, and media cooperation<\/a> targeting foreign audiences. Russia has also provided the Iranians with training<\/a> in new media platforms and techniques<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, Russian<\/a> and Iranian<\/a> disinformation and global communications efforts<\/a> have converged since the COVID-19 crisis began. In August 2020, that convergence culminated in a Russian-Iranian agreement<\/a> to counter what Russia\u2019s Foreign Ministry called \u201cincreasing information pressure from the West\u201d designed \u201cto discredit Russia and Iran,\u201d as well as alleged Western discrimination against Russian and Iranian media abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Russia, last week\u2019s agreement is part of a broader effort that has seen Moscow sign over 30 international cyber cooperation<\/a> agreements and at least 50 international media cooperation<\/a> agreements since 2014. These agreements often involve countries Moscow sees as areas of historical Russian influence or as vulnerable to Western interference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) have documented<\/a>, Moscow uses these deals to expand its human and institutional networks, cultivate Russia\u2019s image as a trustworthy information security partner, and promote Kremlin-friendly outlets, narratives, and global information security norms while countering perceived Western \u201cdigital neocolonialism\u201d and destabilization. The ISW analysts warn that Moscow may also seek to enhance Russia\u2019s cyberattack capabilities by expanding its access to foreign cyber infrastructure and systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tehran<\/a> also supports<\/a> Russia\u2019s ongoing<\/a> push at the United Nations<\/a> to advance<\/a> authoritarian-friendly<\/a> rules and norms<\/a> of state control of the internet. Similar efforts are underway at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization<\/a> (SCO), where Iran holds observer status and has called<\/a> for increased cooperation against \u201ccyber terrorism\u201d stemming from foreign social media networks. Russia and Iran also both participate<\/a> in the Russia-based Caspian Media Forum, established in 2015 to facilitate<\/a> discussion on issues such as combating \u201cimposed external values alien to\u201d regional countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To counter authoritarian corruption of internet norms and to cooperate with allies and partners to hold malicious hackers accountable, \u201cwell-resourced and persistent diplomatic efforts\u201d are essential, as the congressionally mandated Cyberspace Solarium Commission observed<\/a> in its March 2020 report. During his confirmation hearing, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin commented<\/a> that from the Pentagon\u2019s perspective \u201cit is absolutely important that the State Department be resourced adequately.\u201d Indeed, U.S. Cyber Command chief Gen. Paul Nakasone has noted<\/a> that U.S. cyber \u201ccapabilities are meant to complement, not replace\u201d diplomacy and other tools of U.S. statecraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To date, however, the State Department\u2019s efforts have fallen short. Both the Government Accountability Office<\/a> (GAO) and members of Congress<\/a> have criticized<\/a> the State Department\u2019s cyber diplomacy<\/a> for its poor interagency coordination and inefficiency. In a report released last week, the GAO concluded<\/a> that as currently structured, the State Department may not be able to \u201ceffectively set priorities and allocate appropriate resources to achieve its intended goals.\u201d Given this assessment as well as the expanding cooperation among U.S. adversaries, the Biden administration and Congress should work together to better resource and organize the State Department to defend U.S. values and interests in cyberspace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John Hardie is research manager and Russia research associate at the <\/i>Foundation for Defense of Democracies<\/i><\/a> (FDD). Annie Fixler is deputy director of FDD\u2019s <\/i>Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation<\/i><\/a> (CCTI).<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If Moscow and Tehran share intelligence about U.S. cyber operations, that would bring new challenges for U.S. Cyber Command and the DOD, experts 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