President Biden warned on Monday that “evolving intelligence” suggests Russia is exploring options for possible cyber attacks targeting critical US infrastructure.
“The magnitude of Russia’s cyber capacity is quite substantial,” Biden told Business Roundtable, an association of some of the country’s largest corporations. “I’m coming.”
While there is no evidence of any specific threat of cyber attack, Anne Neuberger, Mr. Biden’s deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology, told reporters Monday afternoon that U.S. officials they have observed “preparatory work” related to nation-state actors. This activity could indicate an increase in the levels of website scanning and search for vulnerabilities among US companies.
More details about US intelligence are still unclear, but Moscow may be looking for ways to retaliate against the economic sanctions imposed after its invasion. UkrainePotential targets include the U.S. financial sector, the power grid, water treatment plants, and hospitals.
Patrick Semansky / AP
“Russia is probably looking to respond aggressively in a way that does not lead to a war with the United States, and cyberattacks are a means for them to demand costs without crossing a major red line,” said John Hultquist, vice president of data analysis. The cybersecurity firm Mandiant told CBS News. “Cyber attacks are usually reversible and not lethal, but their economic and psychological costs could be significant.”
Neuberger called it “deeply worrying” that companies around the world continue to see breaches as a result of known vulnerabilities that they have been unable to correct.
The White House push comes just days before the president embarks on a trip to Brussels on Thursday for a NATO summit before heading to Poland and amid US government efforts to declassify information about Russia’s plans in Ukraine. The United States has previously revealed its findings to deter the Kremlin and other opponents from pursuing plans and undermining attempts at plausible denial.
White House officials offered classified information sessions to more than 100 companies last week, urging private sector partners at risk to bolster cybersecurity defenses against possible intrusions by Russia-linked actors.
“Most of the critical infrastructure in the United States is owned and operated by the private sector, and critical infrastructure owners and operators must step up their efforts to close their digital doors,” the White House said in a statement on Monday. . “The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has been actively working with organizations through critical infrastructure to quickly share information and mitigation guidance to help protect their systems and networks.”
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Monday urged organizations “of all sizes and sectors” to report cyber incidents to CISA or its local FBI office. “DHS will continue to share timely and actionable information and intelligence to ensure that our partners and the public have the tools they need to keep our communities safe and secure, and increase national cybersecurity readiness,” Mayorkas added.
For months, the Biden administration has been pushing companies to prevent cyber-intrusion through a variety of tactics: multifactor authentication, patching known vulnerabilities, executing drills, and emergency plans, as well as encrypting and backing up data.
CISA Director Jen Easterly he told CBS News on Friday that U.S. officials have not lowered their guard. “What we’re focusing on right now is urgently working closely with our private sector partners with our state and local partners with our federal partners to ensure that there is a solid understanding of the environment. cyber threats and the possible consequences of Russian malice. cyberactivity “.
“It’s getting harder and harder to keep bad things from happening,” Easterly added. “And so we have to work together and assume that bad things will happen, assume that there will be cyberattacks, assume that there will be disruptive activity.”
Easterly, the director of the country’s cyber defense agency, said she was increasingly concerned about the “tiredness of surveillance” among U.S. companies running to secure their networks. “It is difficult to maintain a very high pace of extreme preparedness, but we are not even a month away from this unjust, illegal and unprovoked invasion of a democracy and we must continue to keep our shields up. We are more and more information because people understand the nature of the threat environment. “
Since November, the Department of Homeland Security has overseen more than 80 briefings, panel drills, and private sector briefings designed to bolster U.S. cyber defenses in the event of Russian malicious cyber activity.
Lawmakers have expressed their concerns directly to the DHS secretary. Last week, 22 U.S. senators, led by Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen of Nevada and Republican Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota, signed a bipartisan letter demanding more information on the U.S. response to Russian cyber threats and misinformation. . CISA promised in a response letter on Monday to inform lawmakers in the coming days.
CISA and the FBI released several joint cyber bulletins last week, including advice detailing the threat to satellite communications networks just days after reports of hacking by unidentified actors aimed at the telecommunications company Viasat. Reuters reported for the first time on the disruption of broadband satellite Internet access at the start of the Russian invasion.
Since February 15, the Ukrainian government has said it has suffered more than 3,000 DDoS attacks or “distributed denial of service attacks,” which have affected traffic to government websites until they were shut down.
But a cyberattack on a NATO member state could lead to Article 5, its collective defense clause, according to earlier statements by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. The hypothetical trigger has intensified concerns that the Russian invasion of Ukraine could spread to the United States and other territories.
“An attack on critical infrastructure that could be linked to the Russian government would be absolutely escalating, depending on the impact of this incident,” Alex Iftimie, a former national security official for the Justice Department, told CBS News . “It could have important consequences in the future for the possible direct involvement of the United States in this conflict.”
“I think the president was very clear,” Neuberger told reporters before leaving the newsroom. “We are not looking for a conflict with Russia, but if Russia launches a cyberattack against the United States, we will respond.”
Arden Farhi, Major Garrett, Margaret Brennan and Andres Triay contributed to this report.
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