A Russian invasion could reach farther than Ukraine. How a cyberattack could affect you.

John Meyer and kevin Johnson

WASHINGTON – Russian President Vladimir Putin's track record of unleashing destructive "hybrid warfare" cyberattacks has U.S. security officials fearing he could once again reach across continents and wreak havoc on unwitting Americans as worries about a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine persist.

They call it the “spillover effect.” And they say the temporary takedown of some prominent Ukrainian military and financial sector websites Tuesday resembled the kind of prelude to more significant Russian cyberwarfare attacks that could get out of hand.

Russia has a long and demonstrated history of unleashing such powerful cyberweapons against its adversaries, former top Pentagon cybersecurity official Lucian Niemeyer told USA TODAY. And once that happens, they can spread virtually anywhere – and potentially everywhere – without the ability to control them he said.

“Anytime we see that cyber is involved in an attack around the world, there's always the potential that it can spread quickly and have unintended consequences,” said Niemeyer, who served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations and Environment from 2017 to 2021.

Read More