Citing Russian activity, federal agency urges vigilance against cyberattacks

In the wake of Russian military action against Ukraine, a federal cybersecurity agency is reminding local leaders to remain especially vigilant for suspicious activity.

On Wednesday, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said that while it had received no credible threats against computer systems in the U.S., there is the potential that the Russian government might “consider escalating its destabilizing actions in ways that may impact others outside of Ukraine.”

CISA is urging state and municipal officials to make use of several resources it provides:
• A cybersecurity advisory issued jointly by CISA, the FBI and the National Security Agency on Jan. 11 describing the tactics, techniques and procedures frequently associated with Russian state-sponsored cyberattacks
• A CISA list of of cybersecurity measures to reduce the likelihood and impact of a cyberattack
• A Russia Cyber Threat Overview and Advisories webpage, with CISA’s advisories about Russian state-sponsored threats
• CISA’s Shields Up webpage, which includes urgent steps that organizations can take to bolster their systems against threats
• A new catalog of free cybersecurity resources from CISA, the open-source community, and CISA’s private sector partners in the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative
• A CISA Insights document, “Preparing for and Mitigating Foreign Influence Operations Targeting Critical Infrastructure,” focusing on misinformation and disinformation campaigns used to sow public distrust and undermine security

CISA urges local officials to report suspected cyber intrusions and anomalous activity to CISA at central@cisa.gov or at 888-282-0870, and/or to the FBI’s 24/7 CyWatch operations center at 855-292-3937 or at CyWatch@fbi.gov.

CISA can offer help to organizations that have experienced cyber incidents and can use information from incident reports to protect other possible victims.