Russia is not only invading Ukraine, but has also hit the country with a barrage of cyberattacks targeting banks and businesses, shutting down websites and spreading dangerous misinformation.
Companies in Silicon Valley companies fear they could be targeted next.
Inside cybersecurity company Barracuda Networks, a certain area called the "war room” is taking special notice.
"We want to be on the forefront to detect and stop the attack at the very beginning," said Chief Technology Officer Fleming Shi.
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He said they're tracking chaos the minute-by-minute moves — not of Russian ground troops, but cyberattacks that may be coming against Ukrainian government agencies, companies and social networks.
"They could do things that, in the real world, they cannot do because they can move faster, more evasive and very highly technical,” said Shi. “Very hard to defend."
Silicon Valley security companies, who aim to thwart any attacks targeting the U.S. and or its institutions, say the virtual world is a very real battleground.
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"The intent is destructive,” said Hitesh Sheth, CEO of Vectra AI, which employs artificial intelligence to combat online threats. “To get in there and destroy data."
So companies work to detect and protect. But it’s not just defense. They're also aware that America has its own digital warfare arsenal.
One that NBC News says has been fully laid out for President Biden.
"There is no better way to then go and impact the financial institutions, you knock them out, and suddenly you're affecting the way you conduct commerce in the country,” said Sheth.
And we can't repeat enough that if a cyberattack hits a business, bank, or even an app that we use. Our private data could be at risk.
Best bet is to strengthen your cyber profile with two-factor authentication.
Strong passwords, and the latest passwords.
