U.S. cyber-security on high alert following Russian cyber attacks on Ukraine

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine come fears of Russian cyber attacks on the U.S.

Overnight Wednesday into Thursday, several Ukrainian government websites were down. At the time of this writing Thursday morning, the national parliament site was restored. Websites for Ukraine’s cabinet of ministers and foreign affairs ministry were going back and forth between working and not working. As of 9:48 a.m. MT, both sites were down.

Now, the U.S. is bracing to possibly be the next target of Russian cyber attacks after President Joe Biden announced sanctions against Russia this week.

A senior FBI cyber official warned local governments and businesses to be vigilant for ransomware.

Earlier this week, multiple agencies gave similar warnings to large U.S. banks.

In the past, Russia has shown ability to cause significant damage in cyberspace. In fact, some of the biggest cyber attacks against the U.S. in the past two years have been linked to suspected Russian hackers.