Countries use cyberattacks as a tool for modern warfare, and the concept has been used extensively in the Russia-Ukraine conflict to spread disinformation and demoralize opponents. On the day Russia started the invasion, some critical Kyiv websites, including the government, parliament, and Foreign Ministry sites, were offline and inaccessible. Certainly, Russian hackers launched large DDoS attacks to overwhelm the infrastructure and crash the websites. In addition, Ukraine blamed the Kremlin for a data-wiper malware found on Ukrainian computers, which echoed the NotPetya malware attack in 2017 that severely impacted the Ukrainian economy. With heavy fighting raging in Ukraine, cyberspace has turned into a secondary battlefront.
At the same time, numerous western countries, led by the US and Canada, have heavily sanctioned Russia to force it to end the Ukrainian invasion. For instance, Canada announced sanctions on 15 individuals who the federal government claimed had “enabled and supported President Putin’s choice to invade a peaceful and sovereign country,” according to a directive on Regulations Amending the Special Economic Measures (Russia) Regulations.
As a result of these sanctions, security experts have expressed concerns that Russia may launch retaliatory cyberattacks targeting the US and its allies. In addition, there are fears that cyber-attacks targeting Ukraine may spill over beyond the country’s borders. For example, during an interview, Sen. Mark R. Warner, chair of the US senate committee, stated that Russia might pursue cyberattacks to respond to Western sanctions. In such a scenario, Russia may sponsor cybercriminals to ensure the Kremlin’s plausible deniability for damaging cyberattacks that may adversely impact the US economy or its allies.
Increased Risk of Global Attacks
The Russian invasion of Ukraine potentially increases the risk of supply chain attacks. Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimates that one in five global Fortune 500 companies depend on Ukraine’s IT outsourcing industry. Subsequently, there is a possibility of the Russia-Ukraine conflict impacting the global supply chain. Therefore, the implication is that even if Russian cyberattacks don’t target an organization directly, most companies may still suffer from the negative impacts. Besides, with a fifth of Fortune 500 organizations relying on Ukrainian-sourced IT components, Russian supply chain attacks may spread to all parts of the world, leading to coordinated, global cyberattacks.
Also, a top political expert of the Ukrainian government believes that cyberspace across Europe is under enormous threat. The political expert observes that the attacks only demonstrate Russia’s cyber warfare capabilities based on Russia’s cyberattacks targeting Ukraine. “The new large-scale attack will not be limited to information portals of government organizations or anything—now the entire banking system will be hit, there will be disruptions in energy supply, communications, Internet, contacts in the metropolis, and more. All spheres will suffer,” the expert predicted. Thus, potential cybersecurity impacts resulting from the Russia-Ukraine conflict spread beyond the region.
Meanwhile, Canada is reviewing its cyber defences to ensure it stays safe against potential cyberattacks from an increasingly aggressive Russia. According to Global News, Canada is concerned about Russia’s various security and intelligence agencies that oversee different cyber units with murky motivations. Such units engage in nefarious operations like hacking into systems abroad, launching malware to exploit operational technology networks, or accessing accounts through passwords leaked on the darknet.
Possible Risks to Businesses
The Kremlin has repeatedly warned that countries interfering with the conflict will be treated as legitimate military targets. Nevertheless, several nations continue to offer military, financial, and humanitarian aid to Ukraine despite the threats. The intelligence community fears Russia may retaliate through large-scale attacks targeting critical infrastructures and services. However, instead of impacting world leaders, such attacks are more likely to harm business owners and everyday individuals. In this regard, Western countries will be protecting themselves against Russia’s cyber offensive campaigns and organized cybercrime syndicates. Conti, one of the most notorious ransomware gangs, announced its support for Russia and readiness to retaliate against any attack targeting the country.
Cyberattacks May Spillover
Russia has a long history of cyber warfare. For instance, credible investigations have blamed Russia for multiple attacks targeting Ukraine and other countries in East Europe. These include DDoS attacks that targeted Kyrgyzstan, Georgia, and Estonia in 2009, 2008, and 2007, respectively. Also, Russia was held responsible for a snake malware that targeted Ukrainian government agencies in 2014. In addition, evidence from numerous other attacks has pointed to Russia as the perpetrator. Such highly targeted attacks increase the possibility that they may spill over and impact companies in different countries. In addition, spillover attacks may lead to unprecedented levels of collateral damage. This factor has seen the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) release a guide on how US organizations can protect themselves from attacks.
Increased Risk of State-Sponsored Attacks
Most security professionals worldwide are urging individuals and companies to implement specific measures to protect themselves from Russian-sponsored cyberattacks in light of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. For example, with the US urging Western countries to enforce even stricter sanctions, it is only a matter of time before Russian-sponsored cybercrime groups directly strike the US and its allies.
Ryan Wright, a cybersecurity professor at the University of Virginia, noted increased cases of nation-state activities. “This may mean attacks on your personal devices through ransomware but also attacks on the infrastructure such as your internet access or even the power grid,” Wright notes. With attacks like Colonial Pipeline and SolarWinds attacks, which were attributed to state-sponsored actors, still fresh in the minds of many, Russia may likely attempt to disrupt crucial infrastructures and financial systems using cyberattacks.
Protecting Your Organization
Undoubtedly, the Russia-Ukraine conflict poses a significant security threat to all businesses worldwide. In light of this, an effective managed security service provider like Sentia can assist your organization in strengthening its security posture. Sentia specializes in reliable IT solutions and services that can be aligned to address specific cybersecurity challenges and have a team of leading industry experts available for your larger projects. Sentia also actively monitors endpoints and provides a dedicated support team to help you achieve faster response and resolution times. In particular, Sentia offers secure management networking, next-gen firewall, enterprise network security, and threat detection and response to ensure timely identification and mitigation of security threats. As a result, sentia can help your company mitigate threats quickly to ensure you meet all your business’s security needs and demands.
Sentia has also partnered with Cynet’s advanced XDR protection. Cynet XDR provides a single intuitive platform that unifies UBA rules, Deception technologies, Network Detection Rules, EDR, and NGAV with fully automated attack investigation and remediation. Cynet’s XDR solution promises business owners the complete detection and prevention of security threats across the entire IT environment without requiring them to acquire, implement, and manage multiple controls. Leveraging such solutions is integral to ensuring business continuity amid the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
Talk to Sentia today to start acting on your security posture to ensure your organization mitigates cybersecurity and privacy risks.