How Prepared is Your Business

How Prepared is Your Business

How Prepared is Your Business

Many people in the United States assume that because the Ukrainian war is not within the country, that it will never affect their business. Government agencies are warning that these cyber threats and attacks are just the beginning.

In February, President Biden made an announcement on the new sanctions involving Russian banks. After this announcement, David Ring (FBI’s Cyber Official) announced during a phone briefing that businesses need to be on high alert for cyber and ransomware attacks.  

The cyber-attack briefing was one of several that was held over the past few months by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security. Ring stated that Russia is known as a “permissive operating environment” for cybercriminals. The history of Russian hackers and cybercriminals shows that they are too willing to target critical United States infrastructure.

For example, it was less than a year ago when the Colonial Pipeline was under a ransomware attack that eventually shut down fuel deliveries to the East Coast. This attack was executed by the Russian-based hacker group known as DarkSide. 

According to U.S officials, ransomware attacks cost $713,000 per incident. This amount combines the expenses of downtime, loss of business revenue, and reputational harm to the business name. 

What does this mean for U.S. businesses? It means that the country needs to be made aware of how critical these attacks truly are and how they could possibly face them themselves within their own business one day. All businesses within the U.S. need to be protected.

If someone has not taken the steps to protect or reinforce their cybersecurity, they should not wait any longer. Now is the time for businesses to get the security needed to make sure they are fully protected.

CYBERSECURITY ADVISORY

January 11, 2022, an alert was issued by the FBI, CIA, and the NSA about Russian hackers against business systems to raise awareness on the common threats they use. The document states, “Russian state-sponsored advanced persistent threat (APT) actors have used common but effective tactics—including phishing, brute force, and exploiting known vulnerabilities against accounts and networks with weak security—to gain initial access to target networks.”

The effective tactics listed were the following:

The FBI, CIA, and NSA also communicated the importance of increasing and enhancing cybersecurity along with monitoring threats.

The recommended actions to increase and enhance cybersecurity are as follows:

If someone is questioning whether they have enough protection that meet the recommended standards, then most likely they do not. Being a victim of cyberattack is not the way to find out.

TechSquad can protect and monitor your systems to make sure your business and information stay safe and secure. The cybersecurity world evolves daily, and here at TechSquad, we like to keep our clients prepared and safe from any threats. For more information on how we can improve your business and receive a free network and security audit, contact us today at
229-396-5200 or visit our website at https://www.techsquadinc.com/.