On a road trip this weekend, driving
back to Greensboro from Washington DC,
I got a powerful reminder of how
much we all depend on technology.
I was using my phone for directions when
all of a sudden Apple Bam went down for
millions of users across the country.
The Maps app it just stopped working.
The whole thing actually
put the brakes on our trip.
We had to pull over to the side and find a
physical copy of a map at a gas station.
Apple has not said what caused this outage,
but President Biden warned yesterday that
all of our technology just like this,
is at risk more than ever before.
I'm Ben Briscoe from now until six.
We're going to dig into new evidence.
Russia is planning an attack.
What utility companies are
doing to keep your lights on?
And one key step?
You can take today to protect your accounts.
Let's start without warning from
the White House that a cyberattack
from Russia is not an if but a win.
President Biden had a stark
warning Monday night,
the magnitude of Russia cyber capacity
is fairly consequential and it's coming.
Administration officials say there's no
evidence of a specific credible threat,
but cybersecurity experts tell CBS News
they're particularly concerned about
potential attacks on the US financial sector,
power grid and water systems.
As a precaution,
federal officials in recent days gave
classified briefings to some companies.
Tide to infrastructure.
There was some preparatory activity
that we're seeing and that is what
we shared in a classified context.
So preparatory activity could
mean scanning websites.
It could be hunting for
vulnerabilities. Russians
are very capable. They've launched a
number of attacks in Ukraine previously.
CBS News cyber security expert Chris
Krebs says Russia has a proven track
record of vicious cyber attacks.
They also host
and provide safe harbor to
cybercriminals ransomware.
And so, as I think we look forward,
the potential is continued espionage
campaigns against global governments.
But as well as perhaps enabling
ransomware actors to go after American
businesses and Western businesses.
And I'd point out that as the the
sanctions continue to lay waste
to the Russian economy and it may
become an economic necessity for
ransomware actors to strike out and
bring in revenue or money back into.
Russia.
In the triad we know first hand how bad
things can get when our infrastructure
is attacked less than a year ago,
we all had to scramble to find gas
and wait in long lines because of
the ransomware attack on the colonial
pipeline that knocked out the flow of
gas to the East Coast for about a week,
it was not pretty,
and experts say an attack now
from Russia could be even worse.
This is similar to ransomware
in that it lacks a system,
but instead of demanding a ransom,
it's not extortion.
You just wipe all the information
you brick those systems
to help protect you from another cyberattack.
The federal government issued new
cybersecurity standards for pipelines.
It included a new requirement for
pipelines to hire, A cybersecurity
coordinator who's on call 24/7.
That person's job is to test the
system every single day to identify
weak spots where hackers could
get in another possible target,
our banking system.
But before you panic that your
money could be stolen.
Listen to this Investopedia,
says federal law protects people
from losing their money.
It says you can probably get your money
back if your bank gets hacked and loses it.
But the hack could be a cog in the
banking machine which just slows
down your access to the money or
a loan where cybersecurity experts
really start to get concerned.
If Russia attacks is our power grid,
it could seriously leave us in the dark.
The energy secretary says a hacker with
the right skill set has the power to just.
Shut it all down and the FBI director
today also shared similar concerns.
Today.
We've also got to be vigilant
against someone half a world away
trying to shut down an entire
sector of our society or economy.
With a piece of code.
Of Energy Re upped its cybersecurity
protections last year.
It required both businesses and the
government to upgrade systems to
respond to any potential threats,
and Duke Energy has done just that.
It says it has a team that works around
the clock to protect their system.
It also has software in place to
protect employees from accidentally
letting a hacker into the system.
One year alone,
they block 2.2 billion potentially
dangerous emails. Here's the thing that.
Really gets to me about all
of this to attack a company,
all hackers really need is 1
employee to let their guard down.
Experts found about 90% of all
cyberattacks start with a phishing email,
and it can happen to anyone.
We are all vulnerable.
None of us want to be that guy.
That shuts the whole company down.
Just think before you click right.
When in doubt, don't is always a
good idea and just make sure to keep
your software you know, up-to-date.
Here's the trick.
You can try hover your mouse
over the link before clicking it.
You can see where it will send
you if the site looks off,
don't click it,
let your IT people know.
We need two factor authentication.
That is where you log in with your name
and password and then you have to verify
your identity with the second step.
But it's not just for big corporations,
you can actually enable this same level of
security on your own personal accounts.
There are three main types of two
factor authentication security
questions and pin numbers.
Mobile apps that receive additional
login credentials and biometric login
credentials like retina scanners,
fingerprints and facial recognition.
This process can vary depending on
the website or app you're using,
but generally you can go into your account
settings and select settings and privacy.
Next, select password and security and
then choose two factor authentication.
After that, select a security
method that you prefer.
Think of two factor authentication
like a code of protection.
If a hacker has your username and password,
they'll still need a unique security code,
additional credentials,
or a biometric login to gain
access to your account.
Every time that you try
to log into your account,
two factor authentication will be required,
and while this may seem like a hassle,
remember over 155 million individuals.
Were affected by data exposure in
2020 according to Statistic A2.
Factor authentication may not be
able to stop all data breaches,
but it is more secure than just
a username and password.
If hackers still find a way through to you,
there is help in North Carolina
all you have to do is dial these
three numbers 211 the hotline will
connect you with a cyber security
specialist to give you guidance.
2 wants to know.
Interview them about who should
call during one of our Q&A segments.
If they've been a victim of a
fraud or an online scam that is
related to them losing money,
their personal information,
whatever it may be,
they can start by calling 211.
It's the first place.
It can go 'cause really people
don't know the 1st place to go.
Many times they'll call 911 for
identity theft or romance scam,
and that's not the place to be.
You call 211 and those trained
specialists will help you figure out
where to go next and what you may need.
Today we have talked a lot about hacking
done through emails, but it's also
text messages you have to worry about.
Even if you have found a thumb drive
on the ground, you might want to think
twice before actually plugging it in.
If you Google dig into its cyber security.
You'll see we have a whole segment
on all of those tricks on YouTube,
giving you ways to avoid those
other types of attacks.
As always, it is all advice
to prepare you not scare you.
The president has said the threat
of a Russian hack is real,
so you need to be vigilant.