Western governments have warned of potential cyber security threats by Russia against critical Western infrastructure as a response to sanctions imposed by them for its invasion of Ukraine.

Cybersecurity agencies of the Britain, the United States, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, which together form the Five Eyes intelligence sharing alliance, said the war in Ukraine could expose global organisations to cyber crime.

“This activity may occur as a response to the unprecedented economic costs imposed on Russia as well as materiel support provided by the United States and U.S. allies and partners,” said the U.S. Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) in a statement on its website.

Earlier in March, the CISA had said there was “evolving intelligence” that Russia was exploring options for potential cyberattacks. Last week it said, advanced hackers have shown they can take control of an array of devices that help run power stations and manufacturing plants; it however did not name Russia.

Its statement also warned of cybercrime groups which have pledged to support the Russian government to carry out digital extortion attacks against Western targets.

“These Russian-aligned cybercrime groups have threatened to conduct cyber operations in retaliation for perceived cyber offensives against the Russian government or the Russian people,” said the statement.

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