Ukraine

The UK National Cyber Security Centre has warned organisations to prepare for a long-term threat from the war in Ukraine. The UK doesn't face specific risks from Russia but there is no room for complacency, the NCSC says. "The cyber threat to the UK remains heightened, and we expect it to stay that way for some time. Accordingly, organisations should respond to this potentially protracted period of heightened cyber threat from Russia by maintaining a strengthened cyber posture."

There has been substantial disagreement about the extent of Russia's cyber operations in its invasion of Ukraine but it's clear that disinformation is a key weapon in Moscow's arsenal. A study by Recorded Future says a key aim is to undermine Western support for Ukraine by sowing division between allies. Primary targets are France, Germany, Poland and Turkey and messages include "stirring domestic discontent toward Western political leaders; negatively portraying Ukrainian refugees and the impacts they have on their host countries; blaming economic, energy, and food security concerns on Western governments for their negative policies toward Russia."

In an unexpected impact of the Ukraine war, The Daily Telegraph says Microsoft Azure isn't accepting new customers in the UK "as the business is squeezed by emergency demand from Ukraine." Microsoft is providing remote hosting for Kyiv's entire government IT infrastructure. The issue emerged when a small British IT company had a number of requests for cloud services rejected by Microsoft.