What Can Businesses And Individuals Do To Prevent Cyberattacks?

BOSTON (CBS) – President Joe Biden warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin's next escalation could be a direct cyberattack against the United States. So how can individuals and businesses protect themselves against the possibility?

"The magnitude of Russia's cyber capacity is fairly consequential," President Biden said this week. "And it's coming."

John Hammond, a threat analyst for Huntress Labs, told CBS News Boston that the comments are "a bit of a scare," but said it's a critical message to get across.

"This doesn't come as quite a surprise, but it is in my mind a good thing to see this proactive messaging," Hammond said.

President Biden wants companies, federal agencies, and individuals to shore up their cybersecurity. Hammond said that really comes down to the basics.

"I wish I could come and say some groundbreaking new hot thing to bring a solution to folks. Ultimately this boils down to the barebone basics and cybersecurity hygiene. It sounds so trite when you hear cybersecurity professionals say this over and over again, but the reason we do is it's the best thing you can do," Hammond said.

"Having the incident response plan, having the business continuity plan, the disaster recovery, all of this should have been put in place a year ago, that's the best time. The second best time is now."

For individuals, Hammons said "The best that we can do is be on the lookout."

"Be vigilant. And keep our ears to the ground of the threat information, the threat intelligence," Hammond said. "Whether it's computers that you might end up working with on a daily basis, what software pops up? What do you use? That's the best thing is having your own inventory and asset list of what applications and what assets do I work with on a day to day basis? Are there any new emerging threats and vulnerabilities in those software suites and those tools? Be in the know. You absolutely need to be a part of this."

Hammond said protecting digital property is difficult because threats are always evolving.

"Cybersecurity is a hard thing because it's constant. It's a heartbeat. There's really a pulse to it. It's not something we can put a castle and a moat around and say 'Hey it's done. We solved it.' This is something we have to earn every day, all of us," he said.