Cybersecurity Risks Rising Along with Ukrainian Conflict

March 22, 2022 — As the Russia invasion of Ukraine intensifies, federal authorities have stepped up warnings about possible retaliatory cyberattacks against U.S. businesses and infrastructure. Authorities have already detected Russian activity on domestic networks that suggest a destructive cyberattack may be imminent.
 
TeamLogic IT, a national provider of managed IT services and technology support for small and midsize businesses, stands ready to help organizations navigate the uncertainties of the current geopolitical climate and its potential impact on your IT security.
 
“Companies need to step up their cybersecurity in light of the heightened potential for cyberattacks,” said Dan Shapero, president and chief operating officer of TeamLogic IT. “Organizations may need to shore up already strong practices and increase awareness about possible intrusions. We are another resource to help companies protect their IT environment.”
 
TeamLogic IT recommends several actions organizations can take to harden their defenses against the growing threat of a Russian cyberattack:
 

• Revisit business continuity plans. This is a good time to dust off your business continuity and crisis response plans. Are they still up-to-date and realistic for today’s threat environment? Review your procedures for responding and recovering from an incident—including testing backup procedures to ensure data can be rapidly restored if needed. Be sure your staff understands individual roles and responsibilities in case of a cyberattack. No one likes to envision worst-case scenarios but doing so can help your business plan for the risk of IT disruption.

• Fortify protections against intrusions. Check that all defense mechanisms, such as software patches and anti-virus protection, are up-to-date and actively working. Prioritize updates that address known exploited vulnerabilities that have been identified. In addition, implement multifactor authentication if you haven’t already, adhere to cloud security best practices, and disable all non-essential ports and protocols.

• Instill a security mindset in employees. Your employees represent one of the most vulnerable entry spots for a cyberattack, but they can also be your best line of defense. Implement or update cyber awareness training so that employees learn to recognize signs of a potential intrusion, such as suspicious emails or phishing attempts, and know how to respond. Make sure passwords are strong.

• Increase monitoring activities and awareness. Step up your monitoring and awareness of the cyberthreat environment and secure laptops, desktops, servers, network and other critical infrastructure. Deploy additional services to identify and quickly assess any unusual network activity. Enable dark web monitoring to better identify any suspicious issues logging to better investigate any suspicious issues. Turn to your trusted technology advisor for a security risk assessment.