CISOs must get out in front of Ukraine cyber crisis, says NCSC

UK organisations should urgently consider reinforcing their cyber security defences in response to the developing international crisis in Eastern Europe, which has already seen an unknown group or groups conduct cyber attacks against targets in Ukraine with the destructive WhisperGate malware.

The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is today issuing a new bulletin on the unfolding crisis, which diplomatic experts anticipate will likely culminate in Russian military action against Ukraine, and possibly a full-blown invasion. Further cyber attacks are considered quite likely in such a scenario.

It is urging organisations to consult recently refreshed guidance on increasing international cyber threat levels, saying that recent cyber activity in and around Ukraine fits with previously observed Russian patterns of behaviour, such as the NotPetya incident.

The NCSC’s alert follows similar bulletins from US government agencies, including the Department for Homeland Security (DHS) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

NCSC operations director Paul Chichester said: “The NCSC is committed to raising awareness of evolving cyber threats and presenting actionable steps to mitigate them. 

“While we are unaware of any specific cyber threats to UK organisations in relation to events in Ukraine, we are monitoring the situation closely and it is vital that organisations follow the guidance to ensure they are resilient. 

“Over several years, we have observed a pattern of malicious Russian behaviour in cyberspace. Last week’s incidents in Ukraine bear the hallmarks of similar Russian activity we have observed before,” he added.

“While we are unaware of any specific cyber threats to UK organisations in relation to events in Ukraine, we are monitoring the situation closely and it is vital that organisations follow the guidance to ensure they are resilient”