Australia flags potential cyberattacks after Russia sanctions

Australia must prepare itself for likely cyberattacks from Russia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Thursday, a day after joining Western allies in imposing sanctions on Moscow over military actions in Ukraine.

“Cyber attacks are a real threat, and they’re a present threat and that is the most likely response from Russia in terms of what we’ve done,” Morrison told Channel Nine when asked if he expected any retaliation from Russia over sanctions.

Morrison on Wednesday announced sanctions on Russian individuals Australia believes were responsible for Russia’s actions against Ukraine and said he expected “subsequent tranches of sanctions.”

He urged Australian businesses to bolster their cyber defence. They may not get hit directly but there could be “collateral cyber impacts” from computer viruses when deployed that can “take on a course of their own,” he said.

Morrison’s comments come as a newly discovered piece of destructive software was found circulating in Ukraine hitting hundreds of computers, researchers at the cybersecurity firm ESET said on Wednesday.

Ukraine, which declared a state of emergency on Wednesday and told its citizens in Russia to immediately come home, has been repeatedly hit by hackers as Russia has massed troops around its borders.