In the light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, it is essential that organisations, large and small, review and, where necessary, bolster their cyber security due to the potential for increased cyber-attacks internationally, according to the professional body for the digital industries.
Dr Bill Mitchell OBE, Director of Policy at BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT said: 'The UK's critical infrastructure, businesses, citizens, and allies are already a target for Russia in general, but the current climate could see an escalation of these attacks.'
The National Cyber Security Centre has called on organisations in the UK to make sure they “act on improving their resilience with the cyber threat heightened.”
Dr Mitchell said organisations would be wise to heed that call: 'It is impossible to predict what will happen, but it is urgent that organisations follow this advice as soon as possible. Russia has a significant capability to launch cyber-attacks through both the nation-state and other state-sponsored third-party organisations.'
Global cyber attack
Ahead of the invasion, there have been reports of targeted cyber-attacks in Ukraine against its government and financial institutions. Dr Mitchell said: 'We have already seen the widescale devastation that a global cyber-attack can cause.
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'For example, the WannaCry ransomware attack in 2017 was indiscriminate in who it targeted. It affected over 200,000 computers in more than 150 countries. In the UK, the attack brought the NHS close to a standstill.
'A perfectly plausible scenario is a Russian sponsored cyber-attack on Ukraine spreading indiscriminately to large parts of the internet, which could easily include the UK and its allies.'
A joint advisory published by the UK and US has identified a new malware known as Cyclops Blink that could be used to remotely access networks. It is used by the actor Sandworm, also known as Voodoo Bear, which has previously been attributed to Russia’s foreign military intelligence agency, GRU.
