Cyber War Will Continue, West Warns Cyber Attack Threat From Russia

JAKARTA - Western governments, on Wednesday, April 20, jointly warned about the potential threat of increased malicious cyber activity by Russia to critical infrastructure. This was allegedly in response to sanctions imposed on them as punishment for their invasion of Ukraine.

The cybersecurity agencies of the United States, Britain, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand - which together form the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance - say the war could expose organizations to cybercrime in multiple countries.

"This activity may occur in response to the unprecedented economic costs imposed on Russia as well as the material support provided by the United States and US allies and partners," the US Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said in a statement on its website, quoted by Reuters.

In March, CISA said there was "evolving intelligence" that Russia was exploring options for a potential large-scale cyberattack on multiple countries.

Last week, so-called advanced hacker groups have shown they can control a range of devices that help and run power plants and factories. But the warning did not name Russia, which routinely denies it carries out cyber attacks.

Wednesday's statement also warned of the potential for cybercrime groups that have pledged to support the Russian government in carrying out digital blackmail attacks against targets in the West.

"This cybercrime group allied with Russia has threatened to carry out cyber operations in retaliation for perceived cyberattacks against the Russian government or the Russian people," the statement said.