On Russia and a "Shields Up" Cybersecurity Alert

Last week, the U.S. Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (part of the Department of Homeland Security) issued a "Shields Up" cybersecurity alert and said:

• "Russia's unprovoked attack on Ukraine, which has been accompanied by cyber-attacks on Ukrainian government and critical infrastructure organizations, may have consequences for our own nation's critical infrastructure, a potential we've been warning about for months.

• "We are mindful of the potential for Russia's destabilizing actions to impact organizations both within and beyond the region, particularly in the wake of sanctions imposed by the United States and our Allies. Every organization-large and small-must be prepared to respond to disruptive cyber activity.

• “In today's highly connected and complex technology environment, it has become increasingly challenging to completely prevent incidents that may disrupt business operations, especially given the dependencies on supply chains where there is inherently imperfect control.

• "Organizations should plan for a worst-case scenario."

OUR TAKE

• As networked data, communications, and application services expand, vulnerabilities increase for the Internet of Things (mobile, wearable, sensors, etc.) business supply chains, financial/e-commerce platforms, health care services, energy/utility infrastructures, and more.

• Addressing cybersecurity challenges requires better system design and testing, timely software updates, using multifactor authentication security, and other risk mitigation approaches.

• Digital innovation will continue to introduce new benefits, but the Russian concerns highlight that proactive cybersecurity is needed - extending from personal tech to global enterprises.