British organisations and large businesses should prepare for possible Russian state-backed cyber attacks, a top security official warned on Friday, citing recent hacks of dozens of official Ukrainian websites.
Scores of Ukrainian government computer networks were hit with a cyber attack last week that included a message, which flashed on Ukrainian computer screens: “be afraid and wait for the worst.” The US and Nato condemned the attack, which Ukrainian officials suspected emanated from Moscow.
Paul Chichester, director of operations at the National Cyber Security Centre, urged vigilance and said it was “vital that organisations follow [cyber security] guidance to ensure they are resilient.”
He added: “Over several years, we have observed a pattern of malicious Russian behaviour in cyber space. Last week’s incidents in Ukraine bear the hallmarks of similar Russian activity we have observed before.”
The NCSC, the defensive arm of the UK’s signal intelligence agency GCHQ, said while the UK was not attributing responsibility for the recent cyber incidents in…
