On Feb. 25, 2022, one of the top 10 ransomware threat actor groups, Conti, issued a statement announcing its “full support” of the Russian government and threatening “to use all our possible resources to strike back at critical infrastructures of an enemy” who “organize[s] a cyberattack or any war activities” against Russia. Conti followed up with a second statement reiterating its threat but clarifying that “we do not ally with any government.”
These threats come on the heels of a warning issued earlier this week by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that companies should be on alert for cyber-attacks as the United States and allied nations increase sanctions on Russia. Such attacks have already occurred against the Ukrainian government and banking institutions in the past few weeks. The Department of Homeland Security has stated that it has no specific or credible threats against the United States, but warns companies to prepare for the possibility.