The war between Russia and Ukraine is also being fought in the digital world. A week before the outbreak of the war, massive cyberattacks were taking place in Ukraine. Since then, cyber authorities have been calling for greater computer security precautions to prevent a cyberwar.
The conflict is generating serious consequences, such as theft of information and monetary losses. According to experts: “The impact of these attacks can lead to millions in losses in private companies to interfere with the normal functioning of essential public services for citizens.”
In this article we tell you what are the consequences of a cyberwar, the main cyberattacks and how you can avoid it.
Major cyberattacks
The conflict between Ukraine and Russia has led to an increase in cyberattacks, affecting many companies and unleashing a cyberwar. The average number of cyberattacks on companies has increased by 14% since the start of the war.
According to Forbes, on March 28 Ukraine suffered the most severe cyberattack since the beginning of the war. A Russian hacker directly attacked one of Ukraine’s largest telecommunications companies, Ukrtelecom, leaving half the population without internet.
On the other hand, as the CNI warned, the probability of cyberattacks occurring in companies, both public and private, is very high and currently there are many companies that are suffering from these cyber attacks.
As a consequence of the war, we find different types of cyberattacks:
- Ransomware attacks have increased by 253% compared to 2021 figures, leaving private companies and public institutions in a situation of vulnerability.
- Growth of phishing attacks: increase in fraudulent websites and phishing of private companies and public bodies. On March 30, the company Correos detected several SMS impersonating his identity.
- The injection of SQL, this type of cyberattacks has also increased considerably in recent weeks. These cyberattacks insert malicious code into the server in order to reveal private information.
As the weeks go by, the number of cyberattacks continues to increase.
- The average number of cyberattacks in Europe at the end of March was 18% higher than at the start of the war, with approximately 1,101 weekly attacks on companies.
- In Latin America, the average number of cyberattacks has increased by 13% and there are approximately 1,773 attacks per week.
- In North America the situation is very similar to the previous ones, with an average increase in cyberattacks of 14% and approximately 957 weekly attacks.
Consequences of cyberwarfare in Spain.
The situation in Spain is critical, as announced by the Minister of Defense, the country had raised its cybersecurity alert level to level three, on a scale of five levels.
According to a report by the National Cryptological Center, Spain is suffering cyberattacks on a daily basis in both public administrations and private sector companies. The impact of cyberwarfare can lead to millions in losses.
SMEs have become the target of cyberattacks, receiving a large number of malicious emails. Small and medium-sized companies have suffered a large increase in cyberattacks since they do not have large cybersecurity systems, causing them to be an easy target for hackers who raid their servers in search of information.
One case is that of the Villar Mir Group, specifically the company Energya, a marketer of gas and electricity for homes and companies, who has announced that in recent days it has suffered more cyberattacks than ever, ensuring that the origin of these computer attacks comes from Russia. They alert their workers to be careful about opening suspicious emails and ask for constant updating of passwords.
Another particular case is that of Iberdrola, which warned on March 31, 2022 of the theft of personal data of 1.3 million customers. This cyberattack occurred the same week as that of the Villar Mir Group and the CNI alert to companies of possible Russian cyberattacks.
Although Iberdrola has not confirmed the origin of the cyberattack, the company links it to other cyberattacks that other companies have also suffered, including public institutions.
The importance of cybersecurity
Cyberwar is causing numerous thefts of information and economic losses of millions of companies, for this reason it is important to have a good cybersecurity system, an essential element in private companies and public bodies.
In Spain, most companies do not take into account the importance of having cybersecurity until they have suffered an attack, which can cause a great economic loss and the closure of many companies.
Many companies are content to have a free antivirus on their computers, which exposes them to any cyberattack. For this reason, companies must have more professional cybersecurity systems.
How to prevent a cyberattack
It is important to perform cybersecurity audits to determine the level of security that a company has. The audit service consists of performing a series of security tests to determine the state of the company’s safety net.
At CENTUM Digital we offer you the possibility to protect your company from these cyberattacks, through our cybersecurity services, from audits and consultancies, data recovery, OSINT, DLP and managed cybersecurity, to awareness campaigns with employees and phishing.
Contact us to find out how our solutions can be tailored to your needs.
