Congressional Members, Political Analysts Warn Americans On Potential Russian Cyber-Attacks

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – As the conflict continues in Ukraine following the Russian invasion, Congressional members said the U.S, should be prepared for cyber-attacks from Russia.  

“We’ve been working closely with our private with the private sector to harden their cyber defenses, sharpen our ability to respond the Russian cyber-attacks as well,” said President Biden a few days ago after he announced the U.S. would impose sanctions on Russia.

President Biden said they’ve seen cyber-attacks from Russia on Ukraine trying to mislead people about the Ukraine situation and political analysts say Russia’s focus could pivot to the U.S.

“It’s likely that we will incur some cyber-attacks in the United States,” said Todd Belt, Director of the Political Management Program at George Washington University. “It’s always difficult to know when these are going to be going to come and it’s also difficult to know what our own intelligence agencies have been able to fend off because they don’t want to reveal their methods and practices.”

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D- NY) said although they haven’t seen any cyber-attacks on the public or private sector from Russia, we should be prepared.

“Those attacks will likely not come for government it will likely happen in the private sector,” said Gillibrand.

Gillibrand said hackers have already caused problems in New York before by attacking the Metropolitan Transportation Authority a few months ago. Now she’s pushing for additional funding to build our cyber infrastructure.

“The sanctions that the U.S. and our allies have levied on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine have increased the risk of retaliatory cyber-attacks particularly against New York state infrastructure and individuals,” said Gillibrand. “The United States must act quickly to strengthen our cyber defenses to counter any unwarranted and unprovoked Russian aggression, and the threats extends beyond Russia.”

Senator Gillibrand encourages people to look into protecting themselves from cyber intrusions, like using a two-factor authentication when logging into your computer and accounts as well as updating all of your computer systems.