How to protect your business from a Russian cyber-attack

The ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to a sharp rise in cyber-attacks.

And Although many attacks take place between the two countries, it is very likely that other countries could also fall victim to Russian cyber attacks thanks to the sanctions imposed.

President Joe Biden has said that the government has been improving national cybersecurity defences for some time.

They are focusing on infrastructure to ensure that water, electricity and pipeline services are not at increased risk of attack.

The White House has also issued a warning and some very good advice to all businesses.

Businesses should take a number of immediate steps to protect themselves from cyber-attacks and other security risks.

To start, consider implementing multi-factor authentication. This involves using another device to generate a login code to prove that you are actually logging in.

Backups should also be checked regularly. Ideally, there should be a copy of the data that cannot be changed during a cyber attack.

In addition, all data should be encrypted, which means that it would be worthless and unusable if someone were to gain access to it.

It is also a good idea to have a contingency plan in place to deal with attacks quickly and effectively.

Companies are also urged to train their staff to detect and avoid common tactics used by cybercriminals. These include phishing attacks, where emails are sent under someone else’s name. And fake login pages, where they wait for the correct login details to be entered by mistake.

If you already have an IT support partner, contact them to make sure all your systems are fully up to date and patched.  If you don’t have an IT support partner – or you feel your current one isn’t able to help you with your data security, we can help. Reach out to us and we can have a 10-15-minute chat to discuss this topic further.