President Warns of Rising Potential for Russian Cyberattacks on U.S.

WASHINGTON—President Joe Biden has released a statement on domestic cybersecurity as he seeks to elevate his previous warning about the potential for Russia to conduct cyberattacks on the U.S.

The statement explained that the enhanced warning comes based on evolving intelligence that the Russian government is exploring options related to cyberattacks. The Administration has also issued a new fact sheet that includes actionable steps to harden cybersecurity, NAFCU noted.

"My administration will continue to use every tool to deter, disrupt, and if necessary, respond to cyberattacks against critical infrastructure," wrote Biden. "But the federal government can’t defend against this threat alone. Most of America’s critical infrastructure is owned and operated by the private sector and critical infrastructure owners and operators must accelerate efforts to lock their digital doors."

To help reduce cybersecurity risk across the United States, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) compiled a list of free cybersecurity tools and services to help organizations better their security capabilities.

That includes CISA’s recently released an insights post, “Preparing for and Mitigating Foreign Influence Operations Targeting Critical Infrastructure,” providing necessary steps for organizations to assess and mitigate risks from information manipulation from malicious actors.

Additional Resources

In addition, the NCUA along with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a response to the current events, encouraging credit unions of all sizes and their cybersecurity teams to “adopt a heightened state of awareness and to conduct proactive threat hunting.”

As CUToday.info has also reported, NCUA has been highlighting its Automated Cybersecurity Evaluation Toolbox (ACET) , which is aimed at helping credit unions to sell-assess their cybersecurity preparedness.