The Biden administration is warning of the danger of Russian cyberattacks on US businesses or infrastructure amid the war in Ukraine and warns that the US will retaliate.
A new White House fact sheet highlights the possibility that Russia could launch “malicious cyber activity” in response to U.S. sanctions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine last month, and the administration says it has observed “preparatory actions.”
“I think the president was very clear. We are not looking for conflict with Russia. If Russia initiates a cyberattack against the United States, we will respond,” said Ann Neuberger, senior White House cybersecurity official, who briefed reporters at the White House on Monday.
The White House does not say that such an attack occurred after the imposition of new sanctions, which surprised some observers in Russia. But Moscow can take steps to prepare for such an event.
“Information is now emerging that Russia may be exploring options for potential cyberattacks,” the newsletter says.
“If Russia initiates a cyberattack on the United States, we will respond,” warned Ann Neuberger, senior White House cybersecurity official.
Russia also engaged in cyber activity against Ukraine during its invasion, although it did not shut down the power grid, for example.
“We continue to see Russia carry out both significant malicious activity in Ukraine and major kinetic attacks that have destroyed and killed lives, as well as cyber activity. And we believe that the unprecedented economic costs that the United States and its partners are incurring are significant in this sense,” Neuberger said.
But she also noted: “To be clear, there is no certainty that a cyber incident will occur in critical infrastructure.
She urged US industry to use cyber defenses and stressed that some firms have made themselves vulnerable by failing to install available patches for software.
“Just kidding – I grew up in New York: you had a lock and an alarm. Houses that didn’t, or left the door open, obviously make things easier, don’t they? No comments about me. It’s so clear what we’re asking. Walter digital doors make it harder for intruders. Make them work harder, she said.
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According to previous estimates by US intelligence, representatives of Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a series of cyberattacks. US says it’s not certain US infrastructure will be attacked
Some experts have expressed surprise that Russia appears to have not yet responded with violent cyberattacks.
“We continue to see attackers compromise systems that exploit known vulnerabilities for which patches are available. This is deeply disturbing,” Neuberger said.
Last week, Biden administration officials held secret briefings with companies and “industries” to provide “practical and focused advice,” she said. The administration is now issuing a public warning to create “greater awareness” and serve as a “call to action.”
“There was some preparatory activity that we are seeing, and this is what we have shared in a secret context,” she said.
The newsletter called for a series of steps “as a matter of urgency”. These include: using “multi-factor” authentication, using modern security tools, patching, encrypting and backing up data.
“But the reality is that much of the nation’s critical infrastructure is owned and operated by the private sector, and the private sector must act to protect the critical services that all Americans rely on,” the administration said.
US sends RUSSIAN air defense systems to Ukraine to help fight Putin: Pentagon says there is ‘clear evidence’ of war crimes and is now supplying Soviet equipment they ‘secretly acquired from Moscow decades ago’
The Pentagon said on Monday it saw clear evidence of Russian war crimes in Ukraine as it emerged that the US was supplying Soviet-era air defense systems to support the Ukrainian resistance.
On the 26th day of the Russian invasion, a senior defense official said Russia had stepped up air sorties over Ukraine, but its ground offensive had largely stalled.
Last week, President Joe Biden unveiled a new weapons package for the government in Kyiv.
But it does not mention old Russian-made equipment, such as SA-8 surface-to-air missile systems, which are reportedly on the way.
The weapon will be familiar to the Ukrainian armed forces, who have used it since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the US assembled several systems, including the S-300, known to NATO as the SA-10, during the Cold War to study its Soviet technology and better understand its weaponry.
“We continue to work with our allies and key partners to deliver new aid to Ukraine every day, including Soviet or Russian-made anti-aircraft systems and the necessary ammunition for their use,” a US official told the newspaper.
The US is digging through its small stockpile of Soviet-era weapons systems and sending air defense assets such as the SA-8 mobile launcher like the one shown here to Ukraine.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said there was “clear evidence” that Russian forces were committing war crimes in Ukraine.
The US is also working to get Ukraine more S-300 air defense systems.
Washington has rejected calls from the Ukrainian government of Volodymyr Zelensky for a NATO no-fly zone to protect civilians.
Instead, he wants Ukraine to install its air defense systems.
Other supply efforts for Kyiv include working with Slovakia to send S-300s from its arsenal.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited the country last week but has yet to finalize an agreement under which the US would provide him with a replacement.
The S-8 was a step forward for Soviet defense when it entered service in 1971.
It was the first mobile missile defense system to have its own kill radars mounted on a single vehicle.
Its crew of five could stop their truck and have it ready within five minutes to attack aircraft from nearly 20 miles away.
The urgent need for air defense systems was emphasized by recent events in Ukraine.
Determined resistance stopped attempts by Russian troops to capture the Ukrainian capital.
Instead, the Russian invasion has switched to scorched earth, as in Syria and Chechnya, with airstrikes and artillery shelling of civilian areas.
US officials say it looks like an attempt to undermine the morale of the Ukrainian people and their will to fight.
City workers dig graves on public lands to bury civilians and soldiers killed in Russian shelling of Mariupol in southern Ukraine on Sunday.