NCSC advises organisations to act following Russia’s attack on Ukraine
Following Russia’s unprovoked, premeditated attack on Ukraine, the National Cyber Security Centre continues to call on organisations in the UK to bolster their online defences.
The NCSC – which is a part of GCHQ – has urged organisations to follow its guidance on steps to take when the cyber threat is heightened.
While the NCSC is not aware of any current specific threats to UK organisations in relation to events in and around Ukraine, there has been a historical pattern of cyber attacks against Ukraine with international consequences. HermeticWiper, a wiper malware used against Ukrainian organisations, also has the potential to impact organisations outside of Ukraine. Wiper malware can erase data from the hard drive of an infected computer.
UK organisations are therefore strongly encouraged to follow the actionable steps in the NCSC guidance that reduce the risk of falling victim to an attack.
Further information
- The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have warned of possible threats to the US and international satellite communication (SATCOM) networks. The advisory provides mitigation steps for organisations looking to review their defences.
- The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has published a joint advisory with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on WhisperGate and HermeticWiper which can help organisations defend against this type of malware.
- The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) has produced an advisory including indicators of compromise that can help organisations detect WhisperGate, HermeticWiper and IsaacWiper malware.
- Microsoft originally provided information on the WhisperGate malware used against Ukraine in a security blog in January 2022 and an article from ESET from March provides more information about HermeticWiper and IsaacWiper.
