The world is fixated on Eastern Europe today, but Russian cyberattacks remain a threat to all corners of the globe beyond the Ukrainian battlefield. Russia’s online activities also risk expanding the conflict.
On Friday, newly-minted Assemblyman Christian Barranco (R-26) issued a warning concerning the ongoing threat to the U.S. homeland, specifically New Jersey.
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“Our state and region are at a high risk with an newly-aggressive Russia led by Dictator Putin,” said Barranco who currently serves on the Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities, Transportation and Science, Innovation and Technology committees. “I’m calling for needed safeguards and hardening of our utilities, personal and private data centers, as well as our financial data operations. We are, of course, the home of Jersey City which is now known as ‘West Wall Street.’”
Governor Phil Murphy expressed similar concerns on Thursday after the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in earnest. The federal government issued a fresh warning in January and urged organizations to take security steps to mitigate the threat.
New Jersey is no stranger to cyber attacks. As recently as December 2021, a “systems intrusion” deprived multiple state agencies of access to documents.
Back in June 2017, the so-called NotPetya attacks resulted in over $10 billion in damages across the globe, disrupted the Port of Newark, and even hobbled vaccine production at Merck Pharmaceuticals which is based in New Jersey. The attacks were reportedly backed by the Russian government.
“This is everyone’s problem,” added Barranco. “While bad Russian actors may not hack into a personal computer, it’s difficult to use a computer if the power grid has been shut down and the internet is out. Be vigilant.”
Barranco also urged anyone who “experiences suspicious cyber activity” to report it to the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency.
