The Department of Homeland Security has warned of a possible Russian cyberattack on the U.S. if the latter responds to a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine, ABC News reported Tuesday.
“We assess that Russia would consider initiating a cyber attack against the Homeland if it perceived a US or NATO response to a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine threatened its long-term national security,” according to a DHS Intelligence and Analysis bulletin obtained by ABC News.
The department said Russia could employ offensive cyber tools against U.S. networks.
“We assess that Russia’s threshold for conducting disruptive or destructive cyber attacks in the Homeland probably remains very high and we have not observed Moscow directly employ these types of cyber attacks against US critical infrastructure—notwithstanding cyber espionage and potential prepositioning operations in the past,” the bulletin reads.
A spokesperson for DHS said the department shares information with federal, state and local agencies regarding various issues on a regular basis.
“We have increased operational partnerships between private sector companies and the federal government to strengthen our nation’s cyber defenses, including through CISA’s newly established Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative (JCDC),” the spokesperson added.
