UK Warns Of Russian Cyber Attacks

British firms and public services should brace themselves for cyber attacks as tensions with Russia escalate over a potential invasion of Ukraine. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has issued new guidance, saying it is vital companies stay ahead of a potential threat.

Russia is apparently going to cyber-attack UK interests, the Home Secretary and GCHQ has warned as they urged companies and public services to take "pre-emptive measures" to defend themselves against an attack.

Britain is seen to be a potential target, having taken a leading role in calling out Russian potential invasion of Ukraine.

• Home Secretary Priti Patel (pictured) has said that "as this crisis develops" the Government expects to see "cyber attacks aimed at the West".

• Lindy Cameron, the head of GCHQ's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), said: "Cyber attacks do not respect geographic boundaries." And she has also warned of potential Russia cyber-attacks on the UK.

• Jeremy Fleming, the GCHQ director, has briefed the heads of organisations involved in the UK's critical national infrastructure  to  strengthen their cyber defences.

In an interview with the BBC this week, Prime Minister Mr Johnson said that the evidence suggests Russia is planning "the biggest war in Europe since 1945". He added: "All the signs are that the plan has already in some senses begun... This crisis extends into every domain, which is why the UK is providing Nato with more land, sea and air forces, and it is because we feared a crisis like this, that we were already engaged in the biggest increase in defence investment for a generation.”

Recently a cyber attack caused the websites of two Ukrainian banks, Privatbank and Oshadbank, to crash.

In the last few weeks, Ukrainian institutions, this time largely government, have been hit again and the US and Nato have condemned the attacks, which Ukrainian officials suspected orininated from Russia. Although there has been no conclusive proof of who was responsible, US authorities issued a sweeping warning because of "alarming" similarities to 2017, telling all organisations in the US to take "urgent" steps to reduce the likelihood of a damaging attack, and for anyone working with Ukrainian organisations to take extra care.

The guidance, which is primarily aimed at larger organisations, comes after the NCSC warned businesses in the UK’s critical national infrastructure, such as energy, water supply, transportation and telecommunications, about specific vulnerabilities Russian hackers have been known to exploit.

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