All Signs Point To Putin Planning A Sneak Attack On The U.S.

On Monday, President Joe Biden issued a statement warning of “evolving intelligence” that Russia is “exploring options for potential cyberattacks” against the United States.

As the crisis in Ukraine drags on, the administration has already warned that Russia may be contemplating “malicious cyber activity” against the U.S. but the president’s current warning is the most forceful yet.

“This is a critical moment to accelerate our work to improve domestic cybersecurity and bolster our national resilience,” Biden said in Monday’s statement. “I have previously warned about the potential that Russia could conduct malicious cyber activity against the United States, including as a response to the unprecedented economic costs we’ve imposed on Russia alongside our allies and partners.”

“It’s part of Russia’s playbook. Today, my administration is reiterating those warnings based on evolving intelligence that the Russian Government is exploring options for potential cyberattacks,” Biden continued.

Anne Neuberger, Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology, detailed the “evolving intelligence” during Monday afternoon’s press briefing at the White House. She noted that “there is no intelligence that there will be a cyberattack on critical infrastructure,” but said the administration’s latest warnings are “based on evolving threat intelligence.”

“There is no evidence of any specific cyberattack that we’re anticipating,” Neuberger clarified. “There is some preparatory activity that we’re seeing, and that is what we shared in a classified context with companies that we thought might be affected.”

Neuberger would not say which private sectors may be targeted but said those companies and sectors were informed via “classified briefings” last week.

Biden urged private sector companies “to harden” their cyber defenses “immediately.” The administration also provided a fact sheet detailing steps companies can take to protect against a possible cyber attack.

These efforts include mandating multi-factor authentication, implementing “modern security tools” on computers and devices, running emergency exercises to ensure preparedness and more.

“You have the power, the capacity, and the responsibility to strengthen the cybersecurity and resilience of the critical services and technologies on which Americans rely. We need everyone to do their part to meet one of the defining threats of our time — your vigilance and urgency today can prevent or mitigate attacks tomorrow,” Biden added.