Hillary Clinton appeared at the London Literature Festival and warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin is in the process of conducting a cyber cold war against the west.
Clinton stated that Putin’s plans were a danger to western democracy and that Russian agents had used social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to help influence the US election last year with attack ads and negative stories.
Clinton cited research from Columbia University showing that Facebook ads paid for in Russian roubles were used to attack her and were seen by millions of people in states crucial to the election.
Accusations of Russian influence on the American election have been spoken about for months and look likely to still be the topic of much debate for some time to come.
June’s Parliament Cyber Attack
Russian hackers had been accused of being behind a major cyber-attack on UK Parliamentary emails back in June. However, Whitehall officials have recently confirmed that Iran was in fact behind the attack on 23 June.
The attack saw hackers attempting to gain access to up to 9,000 accounts with up to 30 accounts thought to have been compromised.
Security sources are unsure of Iran’s motive for the attack and, whilst it has been described as an unsophisticated attack, it is a worrying example of Iran showing signs of aggression in the sphere of cyber security.
WannaCry’s North Korean Links
Earlier this year the malware known as WannaCry effectively crippled the NHS, infecting the NHS and other organisations worldwide.
The President of Microsoft, Brad Smith, has stated that “observers in the know” believe that North Korea was behind this attack and that Kim Jong-un’s regime had stolen the technology they needed for the attack from the US National Security Agency.
Smith called for new international laws to be introduced to make clear that cyber attacks against civilians are illegal and in violation of international law.
How DCI Cyber Essentials Can Help
The first step to keeping your organisation safe from cyber attack is to be certified with Cyber Essentials. Certification to the Government’s Cyber Essentials Scheme is a mandatory requirement for organisations wishing to win business with the MOD, and can help your organisation prepare and defend itself against malicious cyber attacks.
