With the crisis looming over the Ukraine from the threat of invasion from Russia, we take a look at the potential implications for the western world, including the United Kingdom, the USA and the EU.
The threat of cyber attacks on the Western World in retaliation for sanctions imposed by Russia could put many businesses at risk. Not only that, but they could also bring chaos and disruption to Government websites, health care systems and banking facilities. The aim behind these cyber attacks is to cause as much disruption to the infrastructure of countries that oppose Russia.
An example of how sinister cyber attacks from Russia are, you only have to look at the treatment of Ukraine over the last 9 years. In fact, the former Ukrainian President, Petro Poroshenko, stated that Russian cyber hackers had targeted state institutions some 6,500 times in the last two months of 2016.
With the tension between Russia and the West ratcheting up over the last month, all Western Governments are warning about the imminent threat of cyber attacks on the infrastructure of their countries and the businesses that work within them. In fact, so stark is the warning, that the UK Government has stated this on their website.
‘The government today attributed the distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks against the Ukrainian banking sector on 15 and 16 February 2022 to have involved the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU). The decision to publicly attribute this incident underlines the fact that the UK and its allies will not tolerate malicious cyber activity.
A Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office spokesperson said:
The UK government judges that the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) were involved in this week’s distributed denial of service attacks against the financial sector in Ukraine.
The attack showed a continued disregard for Ukrainian sovereignty. This activity is yet another example of Russia’s aggressive acts against Ukraine.
This disruptive behaviour is unacceptable – Russia must stop this activity and respect Ukrainian sovereignty. We are steadfast in our support for Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.’
One of the main issues that we have, as a Western society, is that we use software that is also used globally. In fact, so dire is the warning, that the US made a list of software that they urged businesses not to buy because of it’s ability to be hacked by either Russian or Chinese hackers.
The Government is extremely concerned about the threat of cyber attacks from Russia, and the GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) have this week urged UK organisations to ‘bolster’ their online defences because of the pattern of cyber attacks on Ukraine over the past few years, with international consequences.
So, how can you protect your online presence from potential cyber attacks from Russia?
1. Back up your data
2. Secure your devices and network
3. Install some security software
4. Set up a firewall
5. Turn on your spam filters
6. Encrypt important information
7. Ensure you use multi-factor authentication (MFA)
8. Manage your passphrases
9. Monitor your computer equipment and systems
10. Train your staff and put policies in place
11. Consider cyber security insurance
12. Keep updated on the latest developments and possible threats to certain software
13. Get some cyber security advice if you’re unsure what these cyber attacks could potentially mean to your business.
Conclusion
There seems to be little doubt from the Government and the NCSC that cyber attacks from Russia will try to hit our businesses and infrastructure aiming to cause as much disruption as possible.
Don’t let your business be one of the casualties! If you need some advice, we strongly advise you to take a look at the NCSC website.
We are Dynamic Sales Solutions – website design and development and digital marketing in Gloucestershire. If you think we can help you or you’ve got a question that we can answer, please give us a call on 01452 534 860 or take a look at our website www.dynamicsalessolutions.co.uk