White House urges energy sector to strengthen digital defences

In recent weeks, White House officials have hosted classified briefings with hundreds of companies to prepare for the Russian threat. Top cybersecurity analysts have noted that while they continue to provide practical and focused advice, there is still much more that must be done before the ABS Group have confidence that US digital doors are secure.

White House red alert: key takeaways

• There is evolving intelligence that the Russian Government is exploring options for potential cyberattacks.
• The White House Administration is continuing its work to strengthen national cyber defences, mandating extensive cybersecurity measures for the Federal Government and critical infrastructure sectors.
• The majority 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.
• The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has been rapidly sharing information and mitigation guidance through ‘Shields Up’ to help protect organisations’ systems and networks.
• Biden is urging private sector partners to harden their cyber defences immediately by implementing the best practices that have been developed over the last year.

The severe cyber threat against power and energy

For the past 15 years, Russia’s threat actors have been impacting Ukraine's ability to keep its population warm and safe by strategically shutting off gas supplies during the winter. To many people, this is the difference between life and death. Threat actors like Sandworm were attributed to Russia for the 23 December BlackEnergy 3 power outage in Ukraine.

America is aware that these cyber criminals present the potential of a severe threat against power and energy resources because they have the capabilities and have successfully disrupted them before. The ABS Group know that these past operations have been aligned with Russia's agendas. What they don't know is what this will do to the US public's peace of mind.

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