Daniel Prince
In wake of Russian invasion of Ukraine, cyberattack threat grows
In the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the South Carolina Small Business Development Center has issued an urgent warning to SC small businesses regarding potential cyberattacks. Their statement says that impacts of the invasion are being felt around the world in companies large and small, both economically and logistically. In addition, there is a high level of concern regarding cyberattacks. Reports say state-sponsored attacks on Ukraine have disrupted everything from utilities to banking to communications.
The center’s warning continues that the tools being used to cause these disruptions are not always under the full control of the attacker. Many of the threats being released on Ukraine are capable of making their way around the world via the internet. They say it is also a distinct possibility that the US and its allies could see in increase in targeted cyber-attacks should Russia decide to retaliate against those countries imposing sanctions. The SC Small Business Development Center asks that the small business community take the threat as seriously as the cybersecurity community is. They say there is a real possibility that any small business could become the victim of a cyberattack either directly or indirectly.
To minimize the risk, the SBDC recommends that business owners be more diligent about checking for unusual activity or performance issues on devices and networks; to make a plan to incorporate regular backups if you have not done so already; to test a recent backup to make sure it works; to check antivirus and all software for needed updates and patches; to use a password manager with complex passphrases of 16 characters or more with random numbers, letters, and symbols; to use multifactor authentication; and to turn on or incorporate virtual private networks when online. Taking these steps will dramatically reduce your chances of becoming a victim and substantially increase the speed of your recovery. For more cybersecurity resources, visit www.scsbdc.com/cyber.