CISA Reiterates Federal Warning of Russian Cyberattacks on US Business in Wake of Ukraine Invasion

In the shadow of Russia's invading Ukraine, the US federal cyber watchdog on Friday issued a "shields up" warning to US business about the potential for Russian cyberattacks on the US as a means of disrupting US support. CISA has warned US businesses for months about the possibility that Russia would target US and NATO countries with disruptive, diversionary attacks.  

According to CISA: 

Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine, which has been accompanied by cyber-attacks on Ukrainian government and critical infrastructure organizations, may have consequences for our own nation’s critical infrastructure, a potential we’ve been warning about for months.

While there are no specific or credible cyber threats to the U.S. homeland at this time, we are mindful of the potential for Russia’s destabilizing actions to impact organizations both within and beyond the region, particularly in the wake of sanctions imposed by the United States and our Allies. Every organization—large and small—must be prepared to respond to disruptive cyber activity.

We urge US companies to ensure that their security is up to date, that their employees are aware of the potential for attacks via behavioral targeting, that they have back-up access to data, and that they have a response plan in place with key resources identified to handle any network problems and communications with internal and external stakeholders. Attacks on the US and other countries could endanger the still-tangled supply chain, could affect financial transactions, and could mean US employers spend valuable time and money trying to recover data belonging to them and their customers.