US officials ramp up cyber threat warnings

Top U.S. officials are ramping up their warnings about possible Russian cyberattacks on critical infrastructure as the war in Ukraine escalates.

In an interview with “60 Minutes” on CBS, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Jen Easterly discussed the threats they’re seeing and the various ways their respective agencies are preparing for potential Russian cyberattacks.

“We are seeing Russian state actors scanning, probing, looking for opportunities, looking for weaknesses in our systems on critical infrastructure, on businesses,” Monaco told Bill Whitaker of “60 Minutes.”

Easterly, who was also featured in the segment, said her agency is seeing “evolving intelligence” indicating the Russians are planning for possible cyberattacks and critical infrastructure should assume there is going to be a breach and prepare accordingly.