President Joe Biden on Monday warned of Russian cyberattacks against the U.S. — making his most prominent alert yet about what he called new intelligence concerning the Putin regime’s plans.
“The more Putin’s back is against the wall, the greater the severity of the tactics he may employ … one of the tools he’s most likely to use in my view, in our view, is cyberattacks,” Biden said on Monday.
They have a very sophisticated cyber capability," he said, and later argued, "The point is that he has the capability. He hasn't used it yet, but it's part of his playbook."
The President told business leaders the national interest is at stake, suggesting that it's "a patriotic obligation that you invest as much as you can in making sure -- and we will help in any way -- that you have built up your technological capacity to deal with cyber attacks."
Biden said the administration has issued “new warnings that, based on evolving intelligence, Russia may be planning a cyberattack against us. ... The magnitude of Russia’s cyber capacity is fairly consequential, and it’s coming.”
The president said the federal government is “doing its part” to prepare for an attack and warned the private-sector CEOs that it also is in the national interest that they do the same.
“I would respectfully suggest it’s a patriotic obligation for you to invest as much as you can” in technology to counter cyberattacks, Biden told members of the Business Roundtable. “We’re prepared to help you, as I said, with any tools and expertise we possess, if you’re ready to do that. But it’s your decision as to the steps you’ll take and your responsibility to take them, not ours.”
Biden had previously warned of a possible cyber attack from Russia, saying on 24 February the US was prepared to respond.
In Monday's statement, Mr Biden said that intelligence had been "evolving", and that the US believes the "Russian government is exploring options".
Biden also called for US companies to "accelerate efforts to lock their digital doors".
"You have the power, the capacity, and the responsibility to strengthen the cybersecurity and resilience of the critical services and technologies on which Americans rely. We need everyone to do their part," he said.
Biden said the potential "malicious cyber activity" could be prompted by the "unprecedented economic costs" caused by economic sanctions imposed by the West.
The United States and its allies have put a slew of sanctions in place aimed at crippling the Russian economy, and Biden recently announced the U.S. is sending more anti-aircraft, anti-armor weapons and drones to help Ukraine.
Russia is considered a hacking powerhouse but its offensive cyberattacks since it invaded Ukraine have been muted compared to what some feared. Russia has carried out significant cyberattacks against Ukraine in years past, including the devastating NotPetya attack in 2017 that spread far and wide and caused more than $10 billion in damage globally.
