CISA, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, & UK Issue Joint Advisory on Russian Cyber Threats

The US, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the UK today issued a detailed joint advisory on the increased risk of cyberattacks out of Russia — both nation-state espionage and cybercriminal activity.

The advisory, issued by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), warns that Russia's invasion of Ukraine could expose organizations both within and beyond the region to increased malicious cyber activity and that the Russian government is actively trying to use cyberattacks against global organizations as a weapon in its war on Ukraine.

Security teams, including those with critical infrastructure providers in the US and beyond, need to prepare for these threats and shore up their defenses against malware, ransomware, distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, and cyber espionage. The Russian government is attempting to use cyberattacks in retaliation for sanctions as well as support being provided to the Ukraine defense efforts, according to the advisory. Cybercrime groups have "threatened to conduct cyber operations against countries and organizations providing materiel support to Ukraine," according to the advisory. "Other cybercrime groups have recently conducted disruptive attacks against Ukrainian websites, likely in support of the Russian military offensive."