How Can Russia Invading Ukraine Harm Your Website?

Early this morning Russia has invaded Ukraine by air, land and sea and the state of war is pronounced. Now, if you know your history you might conclude that just because it is far away, it can still affect you. Politicians are warning that a lot of sponsored cyber-attacks are possible and you have to do everything in your power to protect yourself and your business. Now, this might refer more to our neighbours, but being extra cautious shouldn’t be a bad idea.

According to the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, last year was a victim of a series of high-profile ransomware attacks worldwide. In the first six months of last year, global ransomware attacks increased by 151% when compared with the first half of 2020. From 1 January to 16 November 2021, the Cyber Centre has recorded 235 ransomware incidents against Canadian victims.

Thousands of lives were affected by the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack in the US, which was a shocking introduction to ransomware attacks. Millions were affected by the fuel shortages and price spikes caused by this ransomware attack in May.

Search Engine Journal writes about free tools and resources you can use and increase website security after the Russian aggression on Ukraine. They also mentioned how cyberattacks can hurt your search visibility and not show web pages to your visitors. This is something you should always have in mind, not only in the state of war. Of course, the main targets will always be government and infrastructure-related websites, but if Wordfence is right, the threat could expand to commercial websites, too.

So, better safe than sorry, right?

Cybersecurity Checklist

1. Find and fix security flaws in software

2. Enable multi-factor authentication

3. Replace software products that don’t receive updates anymore

4. Replace the systems that work on unchangeable passwords

Steps to Follow

Wordfence also shared some steps to follow, that should help against cyber attacks:

1. Learn about social engineering and phishing attacks.

2. Plugin developers need to pay special attention to their plugins which may become compromised and serve as a gateway for exploits to spread throughout all the client sites.

3. Watch your logs so you can spot suspicious activities from hackers

4. Keep an eye out for new files appearing on your site

Cybersecurity Tips

No matter if you’re a regular person working 9-5 or a business owner, these tips are good to keep in mind. Or better yet, follow.

1. Keep software and hardware up-to-date

2. Don’t open suspicious emails

3. Use secure file sharing locations

4. Check links before you click

5. Put more effort when creating passwords

6. Avoid using public networks

7. Disable Bluetooth when you don’t need it

8. ‘Secure enough’ is dangerous – put more effort!

9. Your employees (or colleagues) must be properly trained

10. Have an SSL certificate installed and HTTPS enabled on your website

11. Back up important data

#cybersecurity