As the ever-looming potential of conflict in the east of Europe intensifies and shows no signs of slowing down the UK government has issued a stark warning to businesses regarding the increased risk of cyber-attacks from Russian and Belarusian cyber attackers.
Recently within the last week it had been noted by Ukraine’s Government Cyber Defence team that Russia have teamed up with their Belarussian counterparts and have breached and taken down numerous government websites and applications which were quickly secured and restored. However, there is now a fear that this may have just been an initial test to “check the perimeter” and potentially “install backdoors” within Ukraine’s government cyber security infrastructure.
This comes today as the UK intelligence forces have issued an official warning to UK companies stating, “While we are unaware of any specific cyber threats to UK organisations in relation to events in Ukraine, we are monitoring the situation closely and it is vital that organisations follow the guidance to ensure they are resilient.” Source – https://tinyurl.com/3acuvke4
Some of the key points which have been detailed by the National Cyber Security Centre, and are there to help you reduce the potential of being targeted are as follows:
- Patching Systems – Ensure that the patch version is the most up to date version which is supported by the manufacturer
- Improving access controls and enabling multi-factor authentication – Two Factor Authentication adds another layer of security to any account
- Implementing an effective incident response plan – Having an incident response plan is crucial. This will ensure you know how to respond, and what action to take when faced with a genuine cyber threat.
- Checking that backup’s and restore mechanisms are working – Backups and redundancy plays a key part in any business let alone in the cyber space, so make sure yours is robust.
- Keeping up to date with the latest threat and mitigation information – As the saying goes ‘Knowledge is power’
As the cyber security landscape evolves so must we, to ensure we are at the forefront of the cutting edge as well as ensuring that all bases are covered. As additional threat actors step onto the scene it makes that job just a little bit harder every time.
Need help protecting your business? Please get in touch with our team who will guide you to a more cyber resilient infrastructure.