CNN reported citing US administration sources that representatives of the White House, US intelligence, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and other agencies have discussed preparations to repel cyber attacks that could be carried out in the United States and Ukraine.
According to the interlocutors of the TV channel, the meeting at the interdepartmental level took place on Friday, February 11, in the format of a videoconference. It discussed the measures that the U.S. leadership in cooperation with private companies could take in various areas of the economy in case of "a potential attack by cybercriminals or government-linked" hackers.
In addition, there was a discussion of the "possible increase in ransomware attacks on U.S. companies" that "Russian-speaking hackers" allegedly might carry out. The issue of providing cybersecurity support to Ukraine was also raised, where, according to sources, there is a "concrete, credible threat" of attacks on infrastructure facilities. No such threat currently exists in the United States. A CNN source stressed that the administration was working on steps in case the situation changed for the worse.
In mid-January, unknown hackers attacked at least 70 state websites of Ukraine, including portals of the Cabinet of Ministers, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Sports, and other departments An appeal in Ukrainian, Russian and Polish appeared on them, the authors of which urged Ukrainian citizens "to fear and wait for the worst. In Ukraine, they believe that Russia is involved in the incident. The US said that the attack was carried out "according to the Russian scheme."
On January 16, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow had nothing to do with the incidents. He noted that no evidence of Moscow's culpability has been provided.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki noted that the United States is in contact with Ukraine regarding the incident, and also offered its assistance in the investigation. According to her, Washington, their allies, and partners are "concerned about this cyberattack."
Western media and officials have been speculating about an impending Russian invasion of Ukraine since the fall of 2021. Washington and Brussels threaten Moscow with new sanctions in case of an invasion. On February 9, Politico newspaper reported that U.S. senators suggested adding to the bill on sanctions against Russia the possibility of imposing restrictions "for cyberattacks" on Ukraine.
