Startups can protect themselves against Russian hackers with these tools

The war between Russia and Ukraine is also taking place on the Internet. This also threatens German start-ups.

The war in Ukraine is not just the image of bombs, dead bodies and destroyed homes. It has also long been taking place on the Internet. Experts speak of a cyber war brewing. Hacker attacks are on the increase, both from Russia and the West. Entire digital infrastructures are under threat.

This could also affect startups, warns legal scholar and IT security expert Dennis-Kenji Kipker. "We now have a new situation," says Kipker. That's because currently it's no longer just about data fishing or other financially attractive exploits for hackers. "Many hackers are now only concerned with pure destruction," he says.

One problem: If a real cyber war were to take place, with targeted attacks on large companies, Germany and its businesses would be ill-prepared, he says. "We can't handle that," Kipker says. Due to unclear authority responsibilities and too few personnel in the IT sector, Germany is currently unable to act and deploy should there be targeted cyber attacks, he said.

Frequent computer attacks in the form of hacker attacks, malware or bots are already causing expensive damage worldwide. This is already affecting Germany, where the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), among others, is responsible for all relevant IT security aspects. For example, the BSI recently issued a number of warnings and set the threat level to "orange," which the agency defines as meaning "business-critical." Increases are the levels red and dark red, at which damage effects would be enormous and the infrastructure could collapse altogether. Before the war, the threat level was still low.

BSI warns against Russian anti-virus program

At the same time, the BSI warns against certain programs or software providers that are widely used. Among them about possible security vulnerabilities of the Russian company Kaspersky. The company's anti-virus products have been trusted for many years, and its products are found on millions of German computers. The Russian provider also promotes its program heavily in the start-up scene.

So far, Kaspersky programs have been successful. Apparently, however, the access of Kaspersky antivirus can now be a security vulnerability, warns the BSI. "Antivirus software, including associated real-time cloud services, has extensive system permissions and must maintain a persistent, encrypted and unauditable connection to the manufacturer's servers due to the system (at least for updates)," the official website states.

Users should replace the software with alternative products - to the chagrin of Kaspersky, which rejected the account. The group has no ties to the Russian government, it said. It said it was working with the BSI to refute the concerns. The IT company believes the BSI's decision is politically motivated.

Protect data and schedule regular updates

In general, companies should check more closely which programs they use and how they secure their data, advises security expert Kipker. "It is important that the data backup is detached from the productive system and not on the running network," he says. Operating system updates should not be put off by companies, employees should not log in to every website, and known rules for email and data security should be followed. Startups with innovative ideas in particular should be careful about where and how they disclose information on the web. "It can also be advisable to take a close look at who you're networking with on Linkedin," says Kipker. In today's world, he says, it's important as an entrepreneur to have a lot of contacts - but some could be fake CEOs to watch entrepreneurs do their thing.

Especially when young companies are developing new software or new services, or handling confidential information, they are a potential target, he said. "The capital of startups is in the know-how," Kipker says. "Where there's something to take, someone will look," he says. That can bring significant damage, he adds: "An attack like that threatens a company's entire existence."

Those who do not protect their trade secrets technically enough may not be able to claim damages later on. "Because then the court doesn't see them as secrets either," says Kipker.

He also advises against storing sensitive data in U.S. cloud services. "Data protection is regulated quite differently there," says Kipker. He recommends companies turn to alternative solutions in the EU or Germany.

Although it is mainly large companies that are currently the target of hacker attacks, start-ups should also prepare for possible attacks, he adds. "Once malware is in circulation, even small companies are not spared," says Kipker. "Startups could become collateral damage in this cyberwar."

Don't shut down systems after attack

If a startup experiences an attack, the first thing it should do is disconnect its entire network from the Internet. "But don't shut down the systems immediately if data still needs to be backed up," Kipker says. That's also important, he says, to make it possible later for forensic experts to see how hackers proceed.

"Business owners should then contact the authorities or the state criminal investigation offices, which are responsible for cybersecurity, and initiate a criminal prosecution," says Kipker. In addition, management should inform all employees and check whether customers or third parties could be affected by the attack.