Organisations and large businesses across the UK are being urged to boost their defences against potential cyberattacks linked to tensions between Russia and Ukraine.<\/p>\n
The warning from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) came after director of operations Paul Chichester said the agency had \u201cobserved a pattern of malicious Russian behaviour in cyberspace\u201d.<\/p>\n
As 100,000 Russian troops mobilised near its border, Ukraine was hit by a \u201cmassive\u201d cyberattack two weeks ago that knocked out the websites of several government departments including the ministries of foreign affairs and education,\u00a0The Guardian\u00a0reported.<\/p>\n
Malignant force<\/strong><\/p>\n Following the Ukraine cyberattack, officials pointed to a \u201clong record\u201d of\u00a0Russian-linked online assaults\u00a0against the country. The latest major strike came at the end of a week of security talks between Moscow and the US and its Western allies that \u201cended in stalemate\u201d, said The Guardian.<\/p>\n The hackers reportedly left a message on the Foreign Ministry website that said: \u201cUkrainians! \u2026 All information about you has become public. Be afraid and expect worse. It\u2019s your past, present and future.\u201d<\/p>\n The message was accompanied by an image showing \u201cthe Ukrainian flag and map crossed out\u201d, the newspaper added, and \u201cmentioned the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, or UPA, which fought against the Soviet Union during the Second World War\u201d.<\/p>\n Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said that \u201cthe cyber-police\u201d had \u201copened an investigation\u201d into the online attack.<\/p>\n Fears are growing that\u00a0the UK and other countries lending support to Ukraine\u00a0in the ongoing border stand-off may also be targeted by hackers.<\/p>\n The US Department of Homeland Security \u201c\u200b\u200bis warning that Russia could conduct a cyberattack against the United States if it feels threatened by further actions the US takes in response to a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine\u201d,\u00a0CBS News\u00a0reported this week.<\/p>\n In an intelligence and analysis bulletin seen by the broadcaster that was sent to law enforcement partners nationwide, the department said that Moscow might launch cyberattacks if \u201ca\u00a0US or Nato response to a possible Russian invasion\u00a0of Ukraine threatened its long-term national security\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cRussia maintains a range of offensive cyber tools that it could employ against US networks \u2013 from low-level denials of service to destructive attacks targeting critical infrastructure,\u201d the bulletin continued.<\/p>\n The London-based National Cyber Security Centre, the defensive arm of the UK\u2019s GCHQ intelligence agency, \u201csaid while the UK was not attributing responsibility for the recent cyber incidents in Ukraine, it was \u2018urgently investigating\u2019 them\u201d, the\u00a0Financial Times\u00a0(FT) reported.<\/p>\n Operations director Chichester said it was \u201cvital that organisations follow [cyber security] guidance to ensure they are resilient\u201d. The \u201cincidents in Ukraine bear the hallmarks of similar Russian activity we have observed before\u201d, he added.<\/p>\n Vulnerable state<\/strong><\/p>\n The updated guidance from the UK\u2019s security experts advises large organisations and firms to \u201cinclude patching systems, improve access controls and enable multifactor authentication\u201d in their digital systems in order to reduce their cyberattack risk,\u00a0The Independent\u00a0reported.<\/p>\n Companies should also implement \u201can effective incident response plan, check that back-ups and restore mechanisms are working, ensure that online defences are working, and keep up to date with the latest threat and mitigation information\u201d, the guidance said.<\/p>\n National Cyber Security Centre chief Lindy Cameron told a cyber conference last October that criminals based in Russia and neighbouring nations were responsible for most of the \u201cdevastating\u201d ransomware attacks \u2013 when hackers block access to data and then demand payment to restore it \u2013 that had been\u00a0waged against the UK.<\/p>\n \u201cHackney Borough Council was hit by one attack which led to significant disruption to services and IT systems going down for months,\u201d the\u00a0BBC\u00a0reported. Ireland\u2019s Health Service Executive \u201calso suffered a significant attack\u201d.<\/p>\n Attacks have ramped up in the US too, with\u00a0a strike on the Colonial Pipeline\u00a0company last year triggering \u201cfuel shortages on the east coast\u201d, the broadcaster added.<\/p>\n And Canada\u2019s Foreign Affairs Ministry was hacked earlier this month, on \u201cthe same day that country\u2019s top cyber agency warned of potential Russian attacks\u201d, the FT reported.<\/p>\n The recent increase in cyber hostilities across the globe is \u201ca sign of how a conflict in one part of the world can impact anyone, anywhere, because cyber weapons do not respect geographical boundaries\u201d, said\u00a0Sky News\u00a0security and defence editor Deborah Haynes.<\/p>\n Such\u00a0cyberattacks\u00a0seem likely to become more common, \u201cas a form of attack that can take place in a grey zone under the threshold of war or as part of a physical, military invasion\u201d, she added.<\/p>\n If you require any help or advice, please contact Valkyrie at E:\u00a0security@valkyrie.co.uk<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0T:\u00a0+44 (0) 20 7499 9323.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Organisations and large businesses across the UK are being urged to boost their defences against potential cyberattacks linked to tensions between Russia and Ukraine. The warning from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) came after director of operations Paul Chichester said the agency had \u201cobserved a pattern of malicious Russian behaviour in cyberspace\u201d. As 100,000 …<\/p>\n