Vienna, VA (February 23, 2022) – The Retail & Hospitality Information Sharing and Analysis Center (RH-ISAC) today released analysis and guidance regarding cyber threats related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The analysis indicates that direct, severe cyberattacks on the retail, hospitality, and travel sectors are not likely, but that organizations should be aware of potential ramifications and harden their security posture.
In the event of disruptions caused by cyberattacks, the retail, hospitality, and travel sectors will likely be impacted as collateral damage and secondary targets, but not as direct targets. According to the RH-ISAC analysis, Russian threat actors outside of Moscow control will likely continue to target Ukraine and possibly other Western targets but are unlikely to cause significant disruptions beyond Ukraine’s borders. However, spillover from cyberattacks against Ukraine could impact global supply chains and commerce, similar to what happened during the 2017 NotPetya cyberattack.
“Although we are hopeful that the geopolitical situation in Russia and Ukraine will not directly impact the consumer-facing sector, the RH-ISAC is providing resources to help our members and sector at large remain vigilant against potential threats,” said Suzie Squier, president of RH-ISAC.
In the face of a largely ambiguous threat against such a massive potential attack surface, the RH-ISAC offers the following general recommendations:
- Ensure that all vulnerable systems and assets are patched with the most current security updates
- Implement access control security measures
- Update incident response playbooks
- Conduct response exercises with a focus on potential threats related to the current crisis
- Educate workforces to be vigilant and not fall prey to phishing or other threats that attempt to capitalize on topics of current interest
Additionally, RH-ISAC issued extensive resources to members to provide situational awareness, information about impact to the sector, and known APTs/TTPs.
Media Contacts
Annie Chambliss
RH-ISAC Marketing & Communications
[email protected]
About RH-ISAC
The Retail & Hospitality Information Sharing and Analysis Center (RH-ISAC) is the trusted community for sharing sector-specific cybersecurity information and intelligence. The RH-ISAC connects information security teams at the strategic, operational, and tactical levels to work together on issues and challenges, to share practices and insights, and to benchmark among each other – all with the goal of building better security for consumer-facing industries through collaboration. RH-ISAC serves businesses including retailers, restaurants, hotels, gaming casinos, food retailers, consumer products, and other consumer-facing companies. For more information, visit www.rhisac.org.
