FBI Anchorage Field Office Launches Cybersecurity Awareness Campaign
ANCHORAGE, AK—The FBI Anchorage Field Office has launched a cybersecurity awareness campaign to educate private sector businesses and organizations in Alaska about the growing threat of cyberattacks, and to encourage organizations to establish proactive relationships with their local FBI field office.
“Partnering with the FBI can serve as a force multiplier to enhance an organization’s cyber defenses and response plans against cyberattacks,” said Special Agent in Charge Antony Jung of the FBI Anchorage Field Office. “With Alaska’s vast size and geographic importance, we must work together to protect Alaska’s infrastructure in this target-rich environment.”
The awareness campaign will include media engagements, social media posts, and presentations to local businesses and organizations throughout Alaska. FBI special agents will also continue efforts to educate our private sector partners about cyber threats, to include:
- Critical Infrastructure Attacks: The private sector controls most of the country’s critical infrastructure, intellectual property, and personal data, making large corporations and small businesses frequent targets of cyberattacks. In 2021, America’s critical infrastructure experienced an unprecedented increase in cyberattacks.
- Ransomware: Cybercriminals and nation-state actors breach private networks, deploy ransomware to encrypt victims’ data, and then demand ransom payments to unlock the encrypted data. When a ransomware incident occurs, swift communication with the FBI can positively impact data recovery efforts. The FBI does not recommend victims pay ransoms. Payment encourages more criminal activity and businesses will likely still suffer the consequences of a cyberattack.
- Supply Chain Attacks: A business’s cybersecurity is only as strong as that of its trusted vendors. Supply chains are increasingly a point of vulnerability for computer intrusions.
As a company or entity strengthens its cybersecurity, the FBI highly recommends engaging with its local FBI field office. Meeting with the FBI before a compromise helps companies understand the potential threats specific to that company. It also provides an understanding of how the FBI protects the confidentiality of victims to determine the severity of a compromise, provide information to help prevent re-infection, and to identify those committing malicious cyber activities.
In addition to partnering with your local FBI office, companies should also take the following preventive steps:
- Update and patch operating systems and software.
- Implement robust access controls, especially for privileged users.
- Monitor security logs.
- Audit trusted third parties or others with access to systems and sensitive data.
- Require personnel to choose a strong, unique password for each account and use multifactor authentication for as many services as possible. Passwords should be changed regularly.
- Educate personnel about phishing schemes to highlight the risks of clicking on suspicious links, opening suspicious attachments, and visiting suspicious websites.
- Keep backups of data offline, and regularly test backup and restoration capabilities. Ensure all backup data is encrypted and immutable.
- Develop a cybersecurity incident response plan that includes the FBI. If compromised, contact the FBI immediately.
- Be aware of signs of compromises such as broken passwords, unexpected pop-ups, slow-running devices, altered system settings, or unexplained online activity.
Businesses and organizations can contact the FBI Anchorage Field Office at (907) 276-4441. Internet crimes can be reported at www.ic3.gov and other suspicious criminal activity at tips.fbi.gov.
Additional FBI Resources: