As Russia hackers target US, cyber security expert advises on computer protection

BOCA RATON, Fla. (WPEC) — As the US continues to side with Ukraine in their battle to keep their country from Russia, the Biden administration is sounding the alarm of possible cyber attacks from Russia, targeting the nation's financial sector, power grids, and water systems.

The FBI says Russian hackers have recently scanned the networks of at least five U.S. Energy companies and 18 other companies that provide defense and financial services. These scans are thought to be preludes to planned cyber attacks, as hackers look for software vulnerabilities.

A cyber security expert who spoke with CBS12 News, Duarte Pereira of Fitech Gelb, says Russia’s aim with these attacks is presumed to be to cause chaos and disruption to day to day lives. But that also means personal info could be exposed, like login information for bank accounts or social security numbers.

So how does someone know if their private information has been stolen?

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"You don't know. I mean you could be locked out of the account, that could be an example of if you got hacked or not, but you have to wait for the news coming out from those services," says Pereira.

Since people won't know right away, here are some of the best ways to make sure your identity and bank accounts are safe, according to Pereira. He says to always use multi-factor authentication. He also says to never repeat passwords because if hackers get one password, they'll try it to log in to other online accounts with it. He also recommends people read up on the latest phishing trends so they know what to look for. Another thing to do is to block incoming emails from Russian servers.

Business owners can also have their engineers or cybersecurity experts block anything incoming from Russia to company servers.