(NewsNation) — The White House is warning that Russia could be planning cyberattacks on Americans.
“To be clear, there is no certainty there will be a cyber incident on critical infrastructure,” Anne Neuberger, the White House deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology, told reporters during a Monday afternoon briefing.
The administration has warned in recent weeks that Russia could look to target infrastructure in the U.S. or elsewhere with cyberattacks, but officials previously said there were no specific or credible threats against the U.S.
“I can assure you that the Russians are gonna be attacking us, digitally, and I’m sure other countries are, as well. We need to prepare ourselves,” retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent Jason Weiss said during a Tuesday appearance on “Banfield.”
Weiss said cyberwarfare is not as much physical as it is psychological.
“I think that’s where Putin is trying to aim, cause us to be confused, divided and fight among ourselves.”
Weiss says people should be proactive in terms of their cyber hygiene, listing the following protection tips:
- Use multi-factor authentication when setting a password
- Don’t create passwords such as ‘pasword’
- Don’t click on a link from an email you don’t recognize
- Don’t install software you’re not sure is appropriate
“It’s like with your house. You want to have fences, you want to lock your doors. You don’t want to make it too easy for a thief.”