U.S. banks prepare to repel cyberattacks after imposing sanctions against Russia

U.S. banks are preparing for cyber attacks after the U.S. and Western countries imposed a series of tough sanctions against Russia over the military operation in Ukraine, cybersecurity experts said.

Tensions between Russia and the West escalated when the U.S. and its allies backed the disconnection of some Russian banks from the international SWIFT system and imposed restrictions on the Russian central bank’s international reserves.

Western governments warned that the tensions could trigger large-scale cyberattacks by Russia or its backers.

“They will take some kind of retaliatory action, and I think the least costly way is some kind of cyberattack,” said Steven Schweitzer, a senior manager at the U.S. investment firm Swarthmore Group.

Global banks are stepping up network monitoring, conducting cyberattack drills, looking for threats on their networks and hiring additional personnel in the event of a surge in hostile activity. Specifically, they are preparing for ransomware and malware attacks, DDOS attacks, data erasure and theft.

“The banks are remarkably prepared. They’ve pulled out their methodologies and now practice, practice, practice, practice,” said Valerie Abend, who heads global financial services security at Accenture.

The New York City Department of Financial Services and the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Agency urged private companies to be vigilant about cyber threats.

“We wouldn’t be doing our due diligence if we weren’t preparing for this,” said Teresa Walsh, head of global intelligence at the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center, an international group of institutions that share cybersecurity analytics.

“Right now, they’re warning in general terms: just be prepared. We’re trying to add more specifics to that,” she added.

According to Walsh, banks are looking at risk scenarios based on tactics Russian hackers have used in the past.

“The key is to be prepared, not wait for a crisis to happen,” she said.