This episode looks at the grey zone weapon of hacking information – like private emails or documents – and then leaking it online to try to influence people or damage reputations.

It is a tactic Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU, is accused of using to target the US presidential election in 2016 and the French election in 2017.

Moscow has denied involvement.

Sky News journalist Deborah Haynes also talks about how she was impacted in a suspected hack and leak against a British organisation that ran a programme, called the Integrity Initiative, aimed at countering suspected Russian disinformation.

Interviews:

Paul Chichester, director of operations at the National Cyber Security Centre

Chris Donnelly, founder of the Institute for Statecraft

“Hawk”, a Lithuanian man, who volunteers as an “elf” to fight the online “trolls”

Keir Giles, author of a handbook on Russian information warfare for NATO, senior consulting fellow at Chatham House

Thomas Rid, professor of strategic studies at Johns Hopkins University, author of Active Measures – the secret history of disinformation and political warfare

Ben Nimmo, head of investigations at Graphika

Credits:

Written and narrated by Deborah Haynes

Edited and produced by Chris Scott

Additional voice provided by Matt Steele

The head of Sky News Radio is Dave Terris