Having set the scene with the need for preparedness, what technologies and actions should cybersecurity admins at small businesses consider? First, I refer you to an article I published on WeLiveSecurity regarding cyber-resilience and the US’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Shields Up campaign. A book authored by Nicole Perlroth, This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends: The Cyberweapons Arms Race, published in February 2021, documents the thriving underground marketplace where governments are often the main customers of zero-day vulnerabilities and exploits. The potential of a zero-day vulnerability being exploited as a cyberweapon is, unfortunately, a real risk.
Malicious attacks can spread well beyond their intended targets, as has been seen with attacks utilizing the EternalBlue exploit, one of the tools chosen to deliver malicious payloads such as WannaCryptor and NotPetya, which caused unprecedented damage, disruption, and financial loss to victims. Although the advice is especially targeted at organizations and businesses that fall into the critical infrastructure category, where a disruption can potentially cause chaos as witnessed in the case of Colonial Pipeline, all businesses should take heed and prepare accordingly. These messages continue to be broadcast and to encourage maintaining vigilance and ensuring that there are no weaknesses in existing cybersecurity operations and practices. More recently on March 21, 2022, the White House issued a Statement by President Biden on our Nation’s Cybersecurity, warning that there is the potential of malicious cyberactivity by Russia against the United States in response to the economic sanctions imposed by western governments.
These questions are justified as the conflict prompted a series of alerts from government agencies and cybersecurity organizations, setting an expectation of a potentially devastating cyberattack on Ukraine and possibly on those supporting Ukraine. Post Russia unleashing its attack on Ukraine, there’s a high chance that if you’re working in the cybersecurity sector like me, you’re being asked a series of questions like: Do you think Russia will launch a cyberattack? Should I be worried? What can I do to protect my devices?
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