White House Warning Private Sector to Be Vigilant Against Russian Cyberattacks

President Joe Biden is warning private companies and businesses to beef up their cybersecurity precautions amid growing concerns Russia may lash out at U.S. sanctions by hacking critical American infrastructure.

In a statement, Biden referred to previous warnings he had issued, describing the possible Russian response as part of Moscow’s “playbook.”

“My administration is reiterating those warnings based on evolving intelligence that the Russian government is exploring options for potential cyberattacks,” he said Monday.

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“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,” he added. “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.”

White House deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology Anne Neuberger clarified Biden’s comments during Monday’s press briefing. She told reporters her team had reached out to entities and sectors that could be targeted, providing them with practical recommendations.

“There is no evidence of any specific cyberattack that we’re anticipating for,” she said. “There was some preparatory activity that we’re seeing, and that is what we shared in a classified context.”

“As the president has said, the United States is not seeking confrontation with Russia,” she added. “But he has also said that if Russia conducts disruptive cyberattacks against critical infrastructure, we will be prepared to respond.”

The administration’s recommendations include using multi-factor authentication, changing network passwords, backing up data offline, and encrypting it in case it is stolen.

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The U.S. has alleged Russia directed operatives to gain access to federal government information via software company SolarWinds and its Orion update. Russia-based hackers were similarly suspected to be responsible for breaches of Colonial Pipeline’s and meatpacker JBS’s information systems last year.