FBI asks US companies to report Russian hacking threats amid Ukraine standoff

The top US intelligence and security agency has asked American business companies to report alleged Russian hacking threats amid escalating tensions between Washington and Moscow over Ukraine.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has told US companies to email details about "any increased [cyber] activity against Ukraine or US critical infrastructure," including against financial, health care and energy companies, according to a report in CNN.

"Have you identified any efforts by known or suspected Russian [hacking groups] to test exploitation capabilities, develop new malware or otherwise prepare for cyber operations?" the agency said.

The request comes amid growing tensions between the two countries, giving rise to fears in Washington about potential hacking threats from Moscow in the event of Joe Biden administration imposing sanctions on the Kremlin officials, as warned.

A top White House cyber official, according to reports, is currently stationed in Europe to hold talks with US allies about how to support Ukraine in the event of Russian cyberattacks.

The top White House cyber official, Anne Neuberger, is in Brussels and Warsaw this week to discuss ways to deter or respond to a Russian cyberattack. The US has been warning that in addition to a potential military invasion, Russia could use a cyberattack to destabilize Ukraine.

— Kevin Liptak (@Kevinliptakcnn) February 1, 2022

"We have the weather forecast [of potential Russian cyber threats]," a US official was quoted as saying by CNN. "Now we're trying to see if there will be any inclement weather in the form of actual cyber incidents."

The report said the White House and federal agencies tasked with cybersecurity are on “heightened alert”, adding that the departments of Energy and Treasury and the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency have in recent weeks held briefings for businesses on the potential Russian threat.

Hundreds of US businesses hit in new cyberattack

The cyberattack infiltrated a major software company called Kaseya and compromised hundreds of its IT management and corporate clients.

The Department of Homeland Security in a January 23 intelligence bulletin warned that Russia would “consider conducting a cyberattack on the US homeland if Moscow perceived that a US or NATO response to a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine "threatened [Russia's] long-term national security”.

"Russia maintains a range of offensive cyber tools that it could employ against US networks—from low-level denials-of-service to destructive attacks targeting critical infrastructure," said the memo.

Western powers accuse Russia of amassing troops near the Ukrainian border to invade or attack the country. Moscow rejects the allegations and says the deployments are defensive in nature.

The US and the European Union have threatened tough sanctions against Kremlin, in the event of an attack or invasion of Ukraine.

Kremlin officials, on the other hand, accuse the Western powers of Russiophobia, saying they have no right to lecture Moscow on how to act after expanding the NATO military alliance eastwards.

Russia has repeatedly reiterated that the expansion of the NATO military infrastructure in Ukraine constitutes a red line for Moscow and that any future expansion must exclude Ukraine and other former Soviet countries.

Russia's envoy: US trying to 'whip up hysteria' over Ukraine with UN meeting

Russia’s envoy to the UN says the US is trying to "whip up hysteria" by pushing for a UN Security Council meeting on the Ukrainian crisis.

On Tuesday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian spoke against the US insistence that Russia is poised to invade Ukraine, saying there are no current indications to that effect, as more Europeans move to avert another US-led row with Moscow.

The remarks by France’s top diplomat came in an interview with France 2 Television after Russian President Vladimir Putin censured Western governments, especially the US, for deliberately generating a scenario intended to lure his country into a war over Ukraine.

Earlier, the UN political affairs chief stressed that there was no alternative to “diplomacy and dialogue” in resolving the crisis over Ukraine.

At a UN Security Council meeting, the Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Rosemary A. DiCarlo, said any military intervention involving Russia or NATO alliance forces must be averted.

Cyberattack Threat

US has often accused Russia of cyberattacks against the country. In May last year, hackers breached the network of Colonial Pipeline, and stole nearly 100GB of data in two hours, which led to the shutdown of the biggest US fuel pipeline operated by the firm.

US President Joe Biden said the cyberattack was not the work of Russia, but added that Moscow bore “some responsibility” for it.

"Russia has nothing to do with this," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in response to Biden's remarks.

Two months prior to that, Russia had termed worrying a US media report that said the United States was planning to mount cyberattacks against Russia, stressing that such an act would be an international crime.

“This is alarming information because a rather influential American news outlet admits the possibility of such cyberattacks,” Peskov said then.

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