The British intelligence service warned businesses against the threat of cyber attacks from the Russian Federation

The UK’s National Cybersecurity Center has warned British organizations and businesses about the alleged threat of cyberattacks from Russia due to the situation in Ukraine. This is stated in a message posted on February 14.

“So far, we are not aware of any specific threats that would concern organizations from the United Kingdom in light of the situation in Ukraine. However, this is not a reason to approach the situation lightly, ”the message says on the center’s page in Twitter.

They advised organizations to urgently implement the recommendations published by the center in order to prepare for the threat of attack, and also called on British organizations to strengthen their cyber resilience in response to the situation in Ukraine.

According to the intelligence service, for several years in Britain, “traces of Russia’s malicious actions in cyberspace” were recorded, including cyber attacks allegedly carried out against Ukraine in 2017.

“The UK government believes that the Russian government, in particular the Russian military, is responsible for the devastating NotPetya cyber attack in June 2017. The attack showed a continuing lack of respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty. It undermined the work of organizations across Europe, the cost of damage is estimated in the hundreds of millions of pounds, ”the statement on the center’s website follows.

Earlier, on February 12, CNN reported that representatives of the US administration, US intelligence, the US Department of Homeland Security and other agencies discussed preparations for repelling cyber attacks that could be carried out in the United States and Ukraine in light of the spread of information about the “Russian threat”.

According to the interlocutors of the TV company, the meeting considered “a possible increase in the number of attacks using ransomware viruses on American companies”, which allegedly could be carried out by “Russian-speaking hackers”. In addition, the issue of providing support in the field of cybersecurity to Ukraine was raised, where, according to sources, there is a “concrete, real threat” of attacks on infrastructure facilities.

In mid-January, Kiev announced a hacker attack against the websites of departments and a number of other government agencies. The Ministry of Culture of Ukraine considered Moscow involved in cyber attacks. At the same time, Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Sergei Demedyuk noted that hackers associated with the intelligence services of Belarus are behind the cyber attack on Ukrainian departments. Later, a criminal case was opened on the fact of the cyber attack.

On January 16, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow had nothing to do with these incidents. He noted that no evidence of Moscow’s guilt was provided.