President Biden has warned that US intelligence indicated a growing Russian cyber threats to the US and called for companies to ‘lock their digital doors’.
“You have the power, the capacity, and the responsibility to strengthen the cybersecurity and resilience of the critical services and technologies on which Americans rely. We need everyone to do their part,” Biden said.
Rob Shapland, ethical hacker and head of innovation at Falanx Cyber commented:
“UK businesses could easily be targeted directly or be collateral damage. It is likely that Russia will scan the entire internet looking for targets that are running specific out-of-date software that they know is vulnerable, or use previously breached password lists from the dark web, in order to gain access to organisations. They would then be likely to steal data that is of interest to them and follow it up with a ransomware or “wiper” attack that looks to encrypt or destroy the data, thereby crippling the organisation.
UK businesses need to make sure they are ready. Out of date software needs to be patched, passwords updated, and cyber attack detection systems deployed”
So what can UK businesses do?
The best method to defend against these attacks is to make your business a hard target by doing the basics of cyber security:
- Deploy MDR to detect any malicious activity on your network.
- Use penetration testing to find vulnerabilities and identify out of date software.
- Ensure all staff are using strong passwords, and that any internet-facing login pages are protected by multi-factor authentication.
- For a quick assessment of your cyber security, use Falanx f:CEL
Follow Rob on Twitter @rdshapland
