Russian cyberattacks could be 'serious pain point' for US economy: former FBI official

U.S. government agencies and American companies are bracing for potential Russian cyberattacks in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the imposition of U.S. sanctions. Russia has struck before — notably with its hack of the Colonial Pipeline, which cut off 45% of the fuel supply to the East Coast last May.

Cybersecurity experts are warning of hits to infrastructure providers that could disrupt power supplies or other necessary services. One expert, a former executive at the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Homeland Security, told Yahoo Finance Live that new waves of attacks will “invariably affect business,” but could look different than past incursions like the pipeline hack.

“It’ll be something different,” said Brian Murphy, now vice president of strategic operations at Logically.AI. “But the same type of model will be used: It's going to be a serious pain point in a sector of the U.S. economy.”

Murphy has experience facing off against Russian cyber threats, both overt and more subtle. He was a whistleblower while at DHS under the Trump administration, alleging that he was told by superiors to stop discussing Russian interference with U.S. elections.

Like other experts, he pointed to the possibility that Russian hackers could target electrical grids and industrial controls for water purification plants — a playbook they’ve used in the past.

And some businesses may not be prepared.

“It depends on the business,” Murphy said. “I think we’ve gotten a lot better as a country. Unfortunately, there’s a long way to go. It’s a cost center for the big companies, but usually the pain they feel on the backside if they have not prepared themselves effectively is far worse.”

The assumption that corporations will be scared into ramping up cyber defense spending is one of the reasons providers of those services have been rallying. A few examples include shares of Palo Alto Networks and CrowdStrike, each of which surged by 13% on Thursday.

Julie Hyman is the co-anchor of Yahoo Finance Live, weekdays 9am-11am ET. Follow her on Twitter @juleshyman, and read her other stories.

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