Keeping your company safe in an era of cyberwarfare

As the Russian-Ukrainian conflict mounts, cyberwarfare is becoming a growing concern. Several days before the Russian invasion, the websites of the Ukrainian defense ministry, army, and two of the country’s largest banks were targeted by distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks – the most significant such attacks the country has ever faced, according to government officials. Given the scope and sophistication of the attacks (as well as the context), Russia is almost certainly the culprit. Ukraine is even enlisting the help of hackers to defend against Russian cyberattacks on critical infrastructure and launch attacks of their own. 
After Washington imposed sanctions on Russia, U.S. officials are warning of imminent retaliatory cyberattacks. Moreover, cyberattacks against Ukraine can end up spreading much farther than their intended targets, which is what happened with the massively destructive NotPetya attack in 2017. This is why the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has issued a “Shields Up” alert for all organizations, which means adopting a “heightened posture when it comes to cybersecurity and protecting their most critical assets.” In an era of cyberwarfare, companies are often the first line of defense against cyberattacks that could cripple critical infrastructure and devastate many other sectors. 
What can your company do to prepare? The most important step is to ensure that your employees know how to identify, report, and prevent cyberattacks of all kinds. This means they should take the following proactive measures to keep themselves and the company safe: 

Confirm the authenticity of digital communications, especially if they contain sensitive information. This can be done by reaching out directly to the sender, watching for abnormalities (such as misspellings, strange domain names, etc.), and cross-checking contact information with legitimate websites and records.

Keep all software updated. It’s crucial to install updates immediately when they become available, as they often include important security patches. Companies should also conduct an audit of the devices employees are using to determine whether they meet a consistent set of security standards. 

Establish incident reporting mechanisms and don’t penalize employees for being transparent. Companies should incentivize open communication from employees about potential cyberattacks, even in cases where those employees may be at fault. 

Inform employees about the risks of working remotely. Home networks are often more vulnerable to cyberattacks than office networks. The risks are even greater when employees work in coffee shops, airports, and other public places, which is why they should always use a VPN and understand physical device security.  

Deploy security resources such as password managers and multi-factor authentication. There are plenty of simple digital tools companies can deploy to address major attack vectors such as credential theft. 

Implement strict data security and privacy protocols. Make sure employees only have access to sensitive data when they need it, delete data that’s no longer in use, and establish formal processes for data management and protection. 

Conduct phishing tests and other forms of evaluation to determine the state of your employees’ cybersecurity awareness. Any effective cybersecurity training platform has to confirm that employees are actually learning what they need to know, and companies should always be assessing whether this is the case.

Facilitate cooperation between departments and teams. From reporting mechanisms to cybersecurity standards, your approach to data security, incident response, and all other elements of your cyber defenses should be integrated across the company. 

Promptly and thoroughly investigate all potential cyber incidents. The amount of time and resources required to determine whether a cyberattack is taking place is far exceeded by the cost of failing to prevent one.

Empower your employees to protect themselves and the company. Headlines about Russian cyberwarfare, large-scale breaches, and so on can be demoralizing and intimidating. Companies should remind employees that they have the power to drastically reduce the risk of a successful cyberattack.