Bracing For Russian Cyberattack

The Russian invasion of Ukraine continues. Sanctions imposed on Russia are crippling its economy and choking its funds. Yet, President Putin seems to be in no hurry to end his unilateral and illegal invasion of its neighbor. Political and defense analysts believe that the Russian President is more likely to retaliate against the Western sanctions and escalate the crisis rather than show signs of weakness or admit defeat.

In this scenario, a bulletin from the FBI, dated March 18, carries a lot of weight. It stated that more than 140 Russian–based IP addresses are currently conducting "abnormal scanning activity," which "likely indicates early stages of reconnaissance, scanning networks for vulnerabilities for use in potential future intrusions." The "abnormal scanning" activity is linked to American energy companies and those in defense, financial services, and information technology.