State Sponsored Cyber Operations (2005-Present)

YEAR 18 (August 25, 2005 - Present)

This is a dataset that tracks state-sponsored cyber operations across the globe since 2005.

All data are official figures from the Council of Foreign Relations that have been compiled and structured by myself. I decided to create this dataset to explore how countries around the world are funding cyber operations to gain political leverage. As human civilization becomes further entrenched into the Digital Age, the necessity for increased government spending on cybersecurity becomes equally apparent. I hope that this dataset not only highlights the widespread usage of cyber operations by states, but also how cybersecurity will protect a government's own interests in the process.

Data Sources

The primary data source used was the Council on Foreign Relations, an independent and nonpartisan American think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, the organization does not take policy positions but instead sponsors discussion, analysis, and research on various topics regarding foreign affairs.

1. Cyber Operations Tracker - The Council on Foreign Relations's Digital and Cyberspace Policy program offers a database of publicly known state-sponsored cyber operations since 2005. Through its meticulous compilation of information from various accredited institutions, the Council on Foreign Relations has created one of the most complete databases on cyber incidents to date.

Statistics Being Tracked

• Title: Title/Summary of the cyber operation.
• Date: Date when the cyber operation was conducted.
• Affiliations: Affiliations behind the cyber operation, if known.
• Descriptions: Description of the cyber operation conducted.
• Response: Response of the suspects behind the cyber operation, if any.
• Victims: Victims that were targeted by the cyber operation, if known.
• Sponsor: The suspected state sponsor of the cyber operation.
• Type: Type of cyber operation conducted.
• Category: Demographic category of the cyber operation's victims.
• Sources_1: Source that reported the cyber operation.
• Sources_2: Source #2 that reported the cyber operation, if any.
• Sources_3: Source #3 that reported the cyber operation, if any.

Dataset History

2023-02-06 - Dataset is created (17 years after the coverage start date).

Kaggle Dataset - The same data but on Kaggle.

Code Starter

Link to Notebook

Acknowledgements

I would like to give acknowledgements to the sources that the Council of Foreign Relations used for their own data:

• Florian Roth’s APT Groups and Operations spreadsheet
• Center for Strategic and International Studies’ list of significant cyber events
• Kaspersky Lab’s Targeted Cyberattacks Logbook