President Joe Biden warned on Monday of “evolving intelligence” that pointed to a possible Russian cyberattack against the United States, describing it as “part of Russia’s playbook.”
The Russian government is investigating how it could launch a cyberattack against the U.S. as its invasion of Ukraine continues, Biden said, urging the private sector to brace to the potential by shoring up cyber security, Fox News reported.
Biden said that the present time is a “critical moment to accelerate our work to improve domestic cybersecurity and bolster our national resilience."
The president statement is the latest warning from the administration about the possibility for Russia to conduct "malicious cyber activity" against the U.S. Biden said a Russian cyberattack could occur in retaliation for the "unprecedented economic costs we’ve imposed on Russia alongside our allies and partners. It’s part of Russia's playbook."
"Today, my Administration is reiterating those warnings based on evolving intelligence that the Russian Government is exploring options for potential cyberattacks," Biden said.
Noting that his administration has been working to secure American cyber infrastructure against an attack, Biden said that the White House has ordered "extensive cybersecurity measures for the federal government and those critical infrastructure sectors where we have authority to do so."
He added that his administration has launched "public-private partnerships and initiatives to enhance cybersecurity across all our critical infrastructure."
Biden said: “Congress has partnered with us on these efforts — we appreciate that members of congress worked across the aisle to require companies to report cyber incidents to the United States Government.”
He said that his administration “will continue to use every tool to deter, disrupt, and if necessary, respond to cyberattacks against critical infrastructure.”
But he added that the 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," Biden said. "The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has been actively working with organizations across critical infrastructure to rapidly share information and mitigation guidance to help protect their systems and networks."
Biden told the private sector to improve their defenses “ by implementing the best practices we have developed together over the last year."
"You have the power, the capacity, and the responsibility to strengthen the cybersecurity and resilience of the critical services and technologies on which Americans rely," Biden said. "We need everyone to do their part to meet one of the defining threats of our time — your vigilance and urgency today can prevent or mitigate attacks tomorrow."