The United States is preparing for cyber-attacks driven by Russia.
The effects of cyber attacks can be far-reaching. Adobe Stock / AOP
President of the United States Joe Biden has instructed companies and organizations in the country to prepare for cyber attacks by locking their “digital doors”. According to U.S. intelligence, Russia is planning a cyber attack on the United States.
According to Biden, Russia is exploring the possibility of launching a cyber attack. Biden said that in a situation like this, the United States would use “all its tools” to prevent and respond to such activity.
According to Biden, Russia may incubate a cyber threat in retaliation for the sanctions imposed on it.
The issue has also been raised elsewhere in the world, and cyber security has also been discussed in Finland. However, there is no evidence that Russia is planning a large-scale cyber attack. Russia has denied the allegations, calling them anti-Russian.
On the cyber side, however, Russia is known to have a lot of experience and large numbers of hackers have made an effort out of the country. There is therefore room for attack in this regard.
BBC brought together three cyber attacks that experts fear the most.
BlackEnergy – Targeted Critical Attacks
Ukraine has been the target of cyber attacks for years before the Russian invasion.
In 2015, Ukraine’s electricity grid was disrupted by a cyber attack called BlackEnergy, which cut off electricity to 80,000 Western Ukrainians. A year later, a new Industroyer attack on the electricity grid cut off electricity by about a fifth in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev.
The United States and the EU have blamed Russia for these attacks.
The cybersecurity officer reached by the BBC Marina Crotofilin Russia could easily carry out such an attack on the West to show its ability and issue a warning. However, Krotofil points out that the attacks on the electricity grid have not led to long-lasting power outages.
NotPetya – mere destruction
According to the BBC, NotPetyan is believed to be the most expensive cyber attack in history, accused by Russian military hackers.
The attackers hid a devastating hurdle in updating the accounting software used in Ukraine, which, however, spread worldwide, destroying the systems of thousands of companies. It is estimated that NotPetya caused about $ 10 billion in damage.
NotPetya is reminiscent of the world-wide WannaCry extortion malware, which was designed to make victims pay ransoms in cryptocurrency. The malware washed about 150,000 computers in 150 countries.
Security expert at security company Rapid7 Jen Ellis tells the BBC that such an attack could lead to mass chaos, financial instability and even loss of life.
– This may sound far-fetched, but critical infrastructure is often dependent on technology wherever any other part of our modern lives. We have already seen their potential for WannaCry, which affected hospitals in the UK, Ellis said.
However, these types of uncontrolled attacks can also hit the attacker’s own ankle. It is possible that the impact of the attacks will also be visible in the country behind the attack.
Colonial Pipeline – Liver or Suffer
In May 2021, panic spread to several U.S. states. This was because the hackers had been shut down by the Colonial Pipeline fuel line, which carries diesel, gasoline and jet fuel. Colonial Pipeline is the largest fuel transportation pipeline company in the United States.
The attack forced the Colonial Pipeline to temporarily shut down its entire line, which measures approximately 8,900 kilometers. This led to a rise in the price of fuel and made people hoard fuel.
Behind the attack was a group called Darkside, which was meant to blackmail money with the attack. The group is believed to have operated from Russia. Colonial Pipeline ended up paying the attackers $ 4.4 million in Bitcoin to get its system back under control.
Experts fear that by targeting and closely coordinating similar blackmail attacks, Russia will be able to maximize the magnitude and duration of the impact if it so wishes.