A well-crafted virus or internet worm could spread across the world and affect organisations in Aotearoa, a cyber security expert says. Photo: 123RF
New Zealand was recently added to a laundry list of "unfriendly" nations by Russia after imposing sanctions on the country following its invasion of Ukraine.
Vertech IT Services managing director, and the author of She'll Be Right (Not!) - A Cybersecurity guide for Kiwi Business owners, Daniel Watson said local organisations could find themselves in the cross-hairs of Russian hacktivists who were angered by the move.
"It may not necessarily be state-sponsored. It could be that step down of the malicious attacker who's doing it out of political motivation due to information they are being fed by the government."
These attacks could range from company websites being hijacked to ransomware attacks, he said.
New Zealand organisations were unlikely to be the direct target of an attack from state-backed cyber-crime syndicates, Watson said, but could be ensnared in a well-crafted virus or internet worm that could spread across the world and affect organisations here.
"We can't afford to be showing a lack of vigilance in terms of how we're protecting ourselves."
Watson said hacktivists would likely target the "low hanging fruit" - that is companies or organisations with weak protections in place.
Large organisations were at the greatest risk of being targeted because disruptions to their operations would be more costly, he said.
Companies should be regularly updating their internet facing and digital operating systems.
They should also develop a reliable backup and disaster recovery plan and conduct a full test to ensure it works, he said.
His final suggestion was for firms to consider getting cyber security insurance because the cost of a policy would probably be less than the disruptions caused by a security breach.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's state-owned telecommunications company, Ukrtelecom, experienced a disruption in internet service on Monday after a "powerful" cyberattack, according to Ukrainian government officials and company representatives.
The incident was the latest hacking attack against Ukrainian internet services since Russian military forces invaded in late February.
RNZ Article - NZ's Russia sanctions: Retaliation may include cyber attacks, expert warns
RNZ / Reuters