What the Tech? The Risk of a Russian Cyberattack Against the U.S.
For the first time in our lives, the threat of a cyberwar is just as scary as the threat of nuclear war. The idea that with the flip of a switch or a tap on an ‘enter key’, Russia could attack every American in every city, cyber experts and President Joe Biden say is a clear and present danger.
“It could be everything from fuel, food, water supply, electricity,” says Adam Levin, founder of CyberScout and host of the podcast “What the Hack”.
“Look, it’s a very real possibility and the one thing we’ve seen so far with Ukraine is that American intelligence has been pretty much spot on.”
What could a cyberattack on America look like? In addition to attacks on our critical infrastructure, Levin says everything is susceptible.
“We also have the risk of operational systems being hacked. Everything from manufacturing, to air travel, train travel, traffic lights. I mean, what if the traffic lights in a city just went down?” he asked.
It’s happened before, Russia took down much of Ukraine’s infrastructure 5 years ago. That attack was carried out in a tax software program that many Ukranianiansused. Suddenly, every computer running that software shut down. Taking computer systems and networks down with them.
While President Biden urges businesses to strengthen their cyber defense. Levin says we all need to do the same. Especially anyone who is working from home on their company’s computer and network.
“You could unknowingly, unwittingly be the conduit for hackers to get into an organization, and that’s why “shields up” means each and every one of us needs to step up and bear part of the responsibility,” he said.
What can the average American do to prepare for an all-out Russian cyber attack? As elementary as it sounds now, change your passwords to something stronger. Use different passwords for different accounts. Enable two-factor authentication on any program, software, or website you use. Levin adds another critical step everyone should take if they’re not already taking it.
“When someone sends you a link or attachment, you don’t immediately click or open, that you actually pause for a minute and ask yourself, is this…It could come in something as innocent as a March Madness bracket.”
Companies invest millions of dollars to protect their systems and networks. Ordinary citizens do not. Many cyber experts believe it will be much easier for Russia to hit the U.S. by attacking consumers and remote workers.
