News:
The White House has issued its starkest warning that Russia may be planning cyberattacks against critical-sector U.S. companies amid the Ukraine invasion.
[…]
Context: The alert comes after Russia has lobbed a series of digital attacks at the Ukrainian government and critical industry sectors. But there’s been no sign so far of major disruptive hacks against U.S. targets even as the government has imposed increasingly harsh sanctions that have battered the Russian economy.
The public alert followed classified briefings government officials conducted last week for more than 100 companies in sectors at the highest risk of Russian hacks, Neuberger said. The briefing was prompted by “preparatory activity” by Russian hackers, she said.
U.S. analysts have detected scanning of some critical sectors’ computers by Russian government actors and other preparatory work, one U.S. official told my colleague Ellen Nakashima on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity. But whether that is a signal that there will be a cyberattack on a critical system is not clear, Neuberger said.
Neuberger declined to name specific industry sectors under threat but said they’re part of critical infrastructure – a government designation that includes industries deemed vital to the economy and national security, including energy, finance, transportation and pipelines.
President Biden’s statement. White House fact sheet. And here’s a video of the extended Q&A with deputy national security adviser Anne Neuberger.
More Stories
Friday Squid Blogging: Squid Game Season Two Teaser
The teaser for Squid Game Season Two dropped. Blog moderation policy. Read More
Clever Social Engineering Attack Using Captchas
This is really interesting. It’s a phishing attack targeting GitHub users, tricking them to solve a fake Captcha that actually...
US Cyberspace Solarium Commission Outlines Ten New Cyber Policy Priorities
In its fourth annual report, the US Cyberspace Solarium Commission highlighted the need to focus on securing critical infrastructure and...
Cybersecurity Skills Gap Leaves Cloud Environments Vulnerable
A new report by Check Point Software highlights a significant increase in cloud security incidents, largely due to a lack...
Going for Gold: HSBC Approves Quantum-Safe Technology for Tokenized Bullions
The bank giant and Quantinuum trialed the first application of quantum-secure technology for buying and selling tokenized physical gold Read...
This Windows PowerShell Phish Has Scary Potential
Many GitHub users this week received a novel phishing email warning of critical security holes in their code. Those who...