The tragedy of the ongoing crisis in Ukraine is being felt predominantly by the poor citizens, soldiers and politicians forced to live through it. However, it also has significant economic impacts worldwide, particularly here in the UK and on the European mainland.
The conflict is now approaching its official half-year mark. The loss of life and targeted destruction of infrastructure and exports (such as wheat) has been immense. It looks set to continue for some time yet.
For all countries worldwide, especially Ukraine, ‘warfare’ doesn’t just mean physical fighting. We’re also seeing ‘economic warfare’ in the sanctions opposed on Russia. Notably – although it doesn’t get shown on the news very often – we’re also seeing ‘cyber warfare’: the launch of state-sponsored cyberattacks.
So, what are the implications of these cyberattacks? Is your business under threat, and what can it do to protect itself? Here are some answers.
What is cybersecurity?
‘Cybersecurity’ is an umbrella term for the measures you take to protect your ICT systems. It includes everything from basic PINs and passwords to firewalls, VPNs, anti-virus software and data recovery.
All businesses are required to have reasonable cybersecurity measures. If an organisation doesn’t have much online information, this might be limited to secure passwords and login credentials. Most companies, though, use networked servers and internet-based services to store personal information, transaction details, and so on. These should have much more robust defences.
If you don’t have any cybersecurity measures in place, you need to take action immediately. Your business is open to data theft, ransomware, malware, spying, phishing, and more. Prevention is far more effective than sitting back to wait for the problem to arise.
Where would cybersecurity threats come from?
Russia has an obviously strong and capable industry devoted to this task, with their cyberattacks regularly appearing in the news, even before the war.
However, as a small British business or charity, you are unlikely to be targeted explicitly by one. Remember, cyber war is about doing as much economic damage as possible. This demoralises the opposition and, in theory, makes them back off. There are much bigger targets than you, which is why you often only hear about attacks on large corporations like banks, oil companies, communications networks and governments.
That’s not to say you should lower your guard. Not at all.
In fact, the UK Government’s most recent Cyber Security Breaches Survey found that 37% of micro businesses, 39% of small firms and 26% of charities surveyed experienced a cyber attack or breach in the 12 months covered by the study. It means that roughly one in three small businesses or charities are likely to face an attack in the wake of the Ukraine crisis.
So, you should still watch out for phishing scams, viruses, or trojans spread through emails. You’ll be familiar with the type: “click this link to learn more about getting rich quick”, that sort of thing. Never fall for it, and you should be fine.
How can I protect myself against cyberattacks?
Cyberattacks on your larger suppliers or customers should be of even greater concern than a direct cyberattack. That’s in relation to the Ukraine conflict, and assuming you’re a smaller-sized organisation. For example, if you do a large amount of business with an internationally-recognised importing company or depend entirely on a specific network provider or have some business critical services from a service provider you might consider your business continuity requirements and whether they are met, just in case. You should also watch out for infectious attachments and links supposedly sent from these trusted stakeholders.
Although it’s officially been declared a maintenance issue, not a cyberattack, there’s an important lesson from the recent Rogers outage in Canada. For almost a whole day near the start of July, the Rogers network – upon which 25% of the country’s internet traffic depends – was knocked out. This meant many phones didn’t work, certain WiFi routers stopped connecting, debit machines were put out of action, and some people couldn’t even contact the emergency services.
Now, this wasn’t a cyberattack, but it does show the potential damage that a significant corporate shutdown could cause. If EE, O2, Three or Vodafone suffered a major attack, it would impact our services across the UK similarly.
We don’t know if this will actually happen. As the UK isn’t yet directly involved in the confrontation, it seems unlikely for now. However, other countries nearer to the conflict (such as Lithuania) have suffered from Russian cyberattacks. Russia also launched deliberately targeted cyberattacks on Western militaries around the world in the days before it moved into Ukraine.
A lesson to learn here is when comparing two suppliers to decide which one to buy from, look at what cyber certifications they have. And taking sensible, reasonable measures in advance might help minimise any damage to your business.
In the meantime, keep up with your firewalls, VPNs, passwords, data backup, etc. Most importantly, train your staff and install a cybersecurity-aware mindset in them.
Ask AMDH Services Ltd for advice
AMDH Services Ltd is an independent cloud solutions consultancy. We work with small businesses and organisations around the country to provide tailored services, helping you safely embrace the efficiency a digital system can provide.
Cybersecurity is an essential aspect of all business plans. We know a thing or two about how best to protect yourself against these threats. If you’d like to get in touch with us for an obligation-free chat about what you need, why not drop us an email or give us a ring?
Our email address is info@amdhservicesltd.com, or you could call us on 01332 322 588. We look forward to hearing from you.
