Banks in Europe and the United States warned of the threat of cyber attacks from Russia

The European Central Bank is preparing banks for a possible Russian-sponsored cyberattack as tensions with Ukraine rise, reports REUTERS.

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The standoff between Russia and Ukraine has alarmed European political and business leaders, who fear an invasion that would harm the entire region.

Now the European Central Bank, headed by former French minister Christine Lagarde and overseeing Europe's biggest creditors, is on alert for the threat of Russian cyberattacks.

While the regulator has been focused on the usual scams that have flourished during the pandemic, the Ukraine crisis has diverted its attention to cyberattacks initiated from Russia, one of the sources said, adding that the European Central Bank was asking banks questions about their protection.

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The banks were conducting cyber-military gaming drills to test their ability to fend off attacks, the source said.

The ECB, which has made addressing cybersecurity vulnerabilities one of its priorities, declined to comment.

His concern reverberates around the world.

In late January, the New York City Department of Financial Services issued a warning to financial institutions about retaliatory cyberattacks if Russia invades Ukraine and falls under US sanctions, according to Thomson Reuters regulatory intelligence.

Increased readiness

The United States, the European Union and the UK have repeatedly warned Putin against attacking Ukraine after Russia deployed about 100 troops near the border with its former Soviet neighbor.

Earlier this year, several Ukrainian websites were subjected to a cyberattack, which left a warning to “be afraid and expect the worst,” as Russia has concentrated troops near the borders of Ukraine.

The State Security Service of Ukraine said it sees signs that the attack was linked to hacker groups linked to Russian intelligence services.

Russian officials say the West is seized with Russophobia and has no right to lecture Moscow on how to proceed after it expanded the NATO military alliance eastward after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

The Kremlin has also repeatedly denied that the Russian state has anything to do with hacking around the world and has said it is willing to work with the United States and other countries to fight cybercrime.

However, regulators in Europe are on high alert.

The UK's National Cyber ​​Security Center has urged large organizations to increase their resilience to cyberattacks amid escalating tensions around Ukraine.

On February 8, Mark Branson, head of the German watchdog BaFin, said in an online conference that cyber warfare is intertwined with geopolitics and security.

The White House also blamed Russia for the devastating NotPetya cyberattack in 2017, when the virus disabled parts of Ukraine's infrastructure, knocking out thousands of computers in dozens of countries.

The vulnerability resurfaced last year when one of the world's largest hacking campaigns used a US technology company as a springboard to compromise multiple US government agencies. The White House blamed this attack on Russian foreign intelligence services.

The attack broke software created by SolarWinds Corporation, giving hackers access to thousands of companies using its products across Europe. Denmark's central bank said the country's "financial infrastructure" had been hit.

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Some, however, believe that the Ukrainian crisis has been blown out of proportion. President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky accused Washington and the media in fomenting panic.

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