Ukraine, Western supply chains facing Russian ransomware threats

Ukraine and Western nations supporting the country amid its ongoing war with Russia have been warned by National Security Agency Director of Cybersecurity Rob Joyce regarding Russian cyberattacks against their logistics supply chains, according to The Record, a news site by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future. Several failed cyberattacks against Ukraine's critical infrastructure have prompted Russia to reconsider new approaches to disrupt Ukraine's logistics supply chain, said Joyce at the RSA 2023 Conference. "We've seen a significant amount of intelligence gathering into the Western countries to include the U.S. in that logistics supply chain. I've not seen the ransomware deliberately thrown at U.S. companies but that is a concern as they increasingly tried to disrupt that supply chain," Joyce said, adding that potential attacks against other countries would be a "significant escalation in tactics and capabilities" for Russia. Meanwhile, Joyce also expressed opposition to hacktivist operations during foreign conflicts, which may be serving as a cover for nation-state actors.