Cyberattack risk in the West raised by political fallout amid Ukraine invasion

Western countries are facing increased risks of cyberattacks against their critical infrastructure amid fallout in the cybercriminal underground as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Threatpost reports. "Pro-Ukrainian actors are refusing to sell, buy, or collaborate with Russian-aligned actors, and are increasingly attempting to target Russian entities in support of Ukraine. However, pro-Russian actors are increasingly aligning with hacktivist-like activity targeting 'enemies of Russia,' especially Western entities due to their claims of Western warmongering," wrote Accenture's Cyber Threat Intelligence team. While a cyber underground civil war should have disrupted cybercrime activity, pro-Russian actors have spurred increased risk against Russia's enemies by encouraging ransomware groups previously cracked down by Western governments and law enforcement agencies to join their ranks and launch attacks, particularly against Western organizations in the government, financial services, insurance, media, and resources sectors, the report said. "The targeting of financial and insurance entities is due to the perception that they are the working arms of Western financial sanctions, whereas the targeting of utilities and resources entities is due to those organizations' importance as critical national infrastructure," researchers wrote.