While the U.S. monitors a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Department of Homeland Security this weekend issued a warning about Russian cyberattacks targeting America.
“We assess that Russia would consider initiating a cyber attack against the Homeland if it perceived a US or NATO response to a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine threatened its long-term national security,” said a DHS Intelligence and Analysis bulletin sent to law enforcement agencies around the country and obtained by multiple news outlets.
According to White House Press Secretary, Russia had amassed 100,000 at the Ukrainian border as of Tuesday.
Previously, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Ukraine’s existence as an independent country is an “artificial construct,” according to NBC News. Though the countries were aligned after the breakup of the Soviet Union, Ukraine has sought deeper integration with Western Europe since the 2000s. Tension between the nations erupted into an ongoing conflict in 2014 and recently escalated further.
“We’ve certainly seen aggressive actions and preparations increasing at the border,” said Psaki.
The U.S. has agreed to surge lethal weaponry to Ukraine and to help support its defenses, according to CBS News.
“No one can get into the mind of President Putin or Russian leadership. We all know that is the case,” Psaki said when asked Tuesday if the U.S. agrees with the Ukraine that a Russian invasion is not imminent.
With troops at the border, Putin has demanded security guarantees for Russia that would include a stop to NATO’s expansion eastward as well as a formal veto on Ukraine from ever joining NATO, said NBC News.
“The demands would significantly redraw Europe’s security landscape and have been largely dismissed by Washington and the military alliance,” according to the outlet.
In addition to troops near Ukraine, Russia has a “range of offensive cyber tools that it could employ against US networks,” that could range from low-level denial of service attacks to “destructive” attacks targeting critical infrastructure, according to ABC News.
Cybercriminals based in Russia caused both the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack in May and a hack of meat supplier JBS. These were “two of the most destructive cyberattacks in recent memory,” ABC News said.
According to Homeland Security, Russia “continues to target” and gain access to critical infrastructure in the U.S. Outside of America, Russian military intelligence assets also launched a cyberattack against Ukraine's power grid in 2015 and 2016, said the bulletin.
DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told CBS News Thursday, “it's very difficult to calibrate the likelihood” of a cyberattack launched by the Russian government in response to American support to Ukraine.
“Of course, our preferred path is diplomacy,” said Psaki of the Russia-Ukraine situation. However, The New York Times reported Tuesday afternoon that President Joe Biden is considering deploying several thousand U.S. troops, as well as warships and aircraft, to NATO allies in the Baltics and Eastern Europe.
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