Lithuanian central bank has told the country’s commercial banks to prepare for possible power cuts and cyberattacks, as fears of Russia invading Ukraine continue to mount, Reuters has reported.
Losing electricity and internet access are “extreme but possible” scenarios that the Bank of Lithuania told the country’s banks to be ready for in a letter sent to them last week and seen by Reuters.
Lithuania, as well as its Baltic neighbours, shares a common power grid with Russia run from Moscow.
“Increased geopolitical tension in the region leads to increased threats of cyber-attacks, including attacks on critical information infrastructure,” the central bank said in the letter.
Lithuanian banks should have contingency plans in place for cyber assaults, such as ransomware and DDoS attacks, in which hackers try to flood a network with high volumes of data traffic, the letter added
The Bank of Lithuania told financial firms to prepare for a breach similar to last year’s massive SolarWinds cyberattack that was linked to a Russian-based agency and targeted hundreds of companies and organisations in the US.
The West fears a possible invasion of Ukraine by Russia that has amassed around 130,000 troops on the border with its neighbour. According to US intelligence, any military action by Russia would almost certainly be preceded by cyberattacks on key functions.
Read more: US official warns NATO, Baltics about possible Russian cyberattacks
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