US President Joe Biden has issued an urgent warning following 'evolving intelligence' which suggests Russia may be planning a series of cyberattacks on American citizens.
The warning follows Biden's decision to implement a series of 'severe sanctions' against the Kremlin in response to Vladimir Putin's 'special military operation' in Ukraine which first began on 24 February.
US energy, defence and financial companies were alerted to the potential upcoming Russian attacks by an FBI advisory, yesterday, March 22.
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The sectors were told to prepare for hacking via IP addresses, and have been urged by Biden to 'accelerate efforts to lock their digital doors'.
Biden has also called on the private sector which owns the US' critical infrastructure to 'do [its] part' in helping to protect businesses and citizens from the attack.
He stated: “If you have not already done so, I urge our private sector partners to harden your cyber defences immediately by implementing the best practices we have developed together over the last year.
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"You have the power, the capacity, and the responsibility to strengthen the cyber security and resilience of the critical services and technologies on which Americans rely.”
The president also stressed that his administration 'will continue to use every tool to deter, disrupt and, if necessary, respond to cyber attacks against critical infrastructure'.
The Department of Homeland Security previously warned that Russia could launch a cyberattack against the US in retaliation of the sanctions announced by Biden.
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On 23 January, it warned that 'Russia maintains a range of offensive cyber tools that it could employ against US networks'.
Possible targets of such cyberattacks were thought to include railways, hospitals and energy providers.
Jen Easterly, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Director, has clarified that the attacks are not anticipated as being conducted in a bid to spy on American businesses and citizens, but 'probably very likely about disruptive or destructive (cyber) activity'.
On Monday, 21 March, Biden explained that he has warned Putin what 'the consequences' will be if the Kremlin leader does decide to launch cyberattacks on the US.
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If Russia does instigate an attack on America then there is also a possibility that Article 5 may be triggered.
When questioned about NATO's response if such an attack does occur, in a conference held soon after the invasion first began, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated: "An attack on one will be regarded as an attack on all."
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Topics: Joe Biden, Russia, Ukraine, Vladimir Putin
Poppy Bilderbeck