Feds: Be on guard against Russian cyberattacks

So could the war in Ukraine extend to Russian cyberattacks on American businesses?

It’s something to think about because the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) says that Russian has been hitting government and other organizations in Ukraine with malware and denial of service attacks.

Right now, the threat level is low, CISA said on its website. However, it’s important for all employers to do what they can to prevent cyberattacks, the agency said. That includes having a plan in case one happens to your company.

Protect yourself from cyberattacks

So, to reduce the chances of harm from a foreign cyberattack, CISA says it’s a good idea to:

• confirm that your network is protected by antivirus and anti-malware software
• check that IT is able to identify any unusual network activity and knows what to do about it
• form a crisis response team that can keep a security breach from getting out of control
• test your backup procedures to make sure data can be restored if your firm gets hit with ransomware or any other cyberattack
• use multifactor authentication for all remote access to your company’s network, and
• make sure that all software is up to date.

And you can sign up for free CISA cyberhygiene services, which include scanning and testing to see if there are areas that can be improved. Go to cisa.gov/cyber-hygiene-services to find out more.