What Russian Cyber Attacks on The US Could Look Like

by Burton Kelso, The Technology Expert

     With Russia hammering Ukraine with cyber-attacks, there's a good chance Russia could set its sights on the U.S. Private and state-sponsored cyberattacks from Russia targeting the U.S. government and businesses have increased during the pandemic, including the Solarwinds attack and the Colonial Pipeline attack last year. With the conflict, here are some of the U.S. cyber-attacks that could occur.
     Truth be told, most of you won't have to worry about cyber-attacks from Russia other than the standard attacks that occur in your everyday lives.  If Russia attacks the US in a cyberwar, they will target our military, our government, our infrastructure (gas, power, and water companies), and our financial institutions. Although 99% of cyber-attacks require you to click on a link or volunteer your information, you still need to be aware of some of the attacks that could occur in the future as they may affect some of the services you use in your daily life.  Here are the type of attacks you might see:

     WIPER attacks. This new form of cyberattack is simple. Infect a computer and wipe all of the data. This could be devastating to financial institutions and infrastructure computers. With information wiped from computers and networks, it could cause a total loss of information, and infrastructure failure could send a city or a state back to the Stone Age.

     Ransomware Attacks. Ransomware attacks are dangerous because they encrypt data and demand a high ransom to get the data.  Ransomware attacks normally just encrypt files so they aren't accessible.  With new Ransomware attacks, criminals will not only lock your files but will threaten to release them on the web as well.    

     DDOS.  Direct denial of services attacks occurs when criminals sent bots and other malicious programs to block internet traffic to your websites and email servers.  These attacks are dangerous because they can disrupt business operations and in the case of public works or banks and other financial institutions, bring them to a screeching halt.

     Phishing, Vishing, and Phishing. Phishing attacks come in the form of email, voice, and text and are the primary way criminals attack computers and devices.  Phishing attacks occur when cyber crooks pretend to be a person of authority and are devastating when people fall for these attacks and give out valuable information such as passwords and other private data that could be used to bring down a business or government institutions.
     In this day of remote work, it's easy for a criminal to target remote workers to get inside information.  Remember the Twitter hack of 2020? It occurred because a remote worker gave sensitive data to a criminal posing as an IT staff member at Twitter.

     Fakes News and Alerts. Social media is the breeding ground for creating fake information and fake alerts.  Russian bots, fake social media accounts can be used to spread misinformation and also be used to cause cyber-attacks on individual and business accounts.

     Charity Scams. Whenever there is a local or global crisis, you can always count on charity scams to pop up.  It's easy for anyone to set up a GoFundMe or a social media post asking for financial support for victims of a traumatic event. Always verify charities before you send them money.

     With cybercrime, it's hard to know where Russian government hackers are and if they are lurking within critical systems in the U.S. and how much damage they can cause. Most organizations in the US are prepared for cyberwarfare, but it's always good to know what attacks could occur to give you a better understanding of what can happen and what things you need to watch out for.

     Want to ask me a tech question? Send it to burton@callintegralnow.com. I love technology. I've read all of the manuals and I'm serious about making technology fun and easy to use for everyone.
     Need computer or technology help? If you need on-site or remote tech support for your Windows\Macintosh, computers, laptops, Android/Apple smartphone, tablets, printers, routers, smart home devices, and anything that connects to the Internet, please feel free to contact my team at Integral. Our team of friendly tech experts can help you with any IT needs you might have.  Reach out to us a www.callintegralnow.com or phone at 888.256.0829.