he full-scale invasion of Ukraine was not a spontaneous act — it was preceded by years of preparation, including offensive cyber operations coordinated through and within cyberspace. Orchestrated by Russian special services, these operations targeted not only Ukrainian infrastructure but also the systems of its European allies.

Since the annexation of Crimea in 2014, Latvia's public and private sectors have been under persistent cyber pressure — resulting in a wave of attacks, compromised systems, and growing awareness of the evolving threat landscape.

To cope with the sheer volume and sophistication of attacks, Latvia partnered with the Canadian Armed Forces Task Force Latvia, forming a joint threat hunting team. This wasn’t just an exchange of best practices — it was a boots-on-the-ground, hands-on-keyboards collaboration.

We admitted our vulnerabilities, leaned on a trusted partner, experimented with approaches, failed fast, learned faster. We laughed, swore, argued, and kept pushing — building playbooks, sharing live threat intelligence, and earning the attention and respect of our NATO allies.

This is the raw, real story of how an improbable cyber partnership evolved into an unbreakable friendship — right at the front lines of hybrid warfare.