{"id":7729,"date":"2022-05-13T11:50:37","date_gmt":"2022-05-13T18:50:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.infoblox.com\/?p=7729"},"modified":"2022-05-13T11:50:37","modified_gmt":"2022-05-13T18:50:37","slug":"russian-state-sponsored-and-criminal-cyber-threats-to-critical-infrastructure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.infoblox.com\/blog\/security\/russian-state-sponsored-and-criminal-cyber-threats-to-critical-infrastructure\/","title":{"rendered":"Russian State-Sponsored and Criminal Cyber Threats to Critical Infrastructure"},"content":{"rendered":"

The cybersecurity authorities of the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom released a joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA) AA22-110A on April 20, 2022. The objective of this CSA is to warn organizations that Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine could expose organizations both within and beyond the region to increased malicious cyber activity. This activity may be driven in response to the massive and unprecedented economic costs imposed on Russia, as well as material support provided by the United States and other allies.<\/span><\/p>\n

Intelligence data indicates that the Russian government is looking at options for potential cyberattacks. The history of recent Russian state-sponsored cyber operations have included distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, and multiple instances of deployment of destructive malware against Ukrainian government and critical infrastructure organizations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Beyond state organizations, some groups which are part of organized crime have also recently and visibly pledged support for the Russian government. These Russian-aligned organized crime groups have threatened to conduct cyber operations in retaliation to cyber offensives against the Russian government and people. Some of these organized crime groups have also threatened to conduct cyber operations against countries and organizations that are providing material support to Ukraine. Very recently, organized crime groups have conducted disruptive attacks against Ukrainian websites. This is very likely in support of the ongoing Russian military offensive.<\/span><\/p>\n

U.S., Australian, Canadian, New Zealand, and UK cybersecurity authorities urge critical infrastructure network defenders to prepare for these potential cyber threats. This requires increased due diligence to harden cyber defense and to put in place the tools and processes to more rapidly and effectively identify indicators of malicious activity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Recommended mitigations and initiatives to reduce risk include:<\/span><\/p>\n