Navigating Cyberthreats in a Geopolitically Volatile World

Because geopolitical instability is increasingly intertwined with cybersecurity risks, global events are a direct concern for organizations. Cyberattacks have become instruments of economic disruption, political pressure, and strategic advantage, and they often affect businesses not directly involved in conflicts.

This interconnectedness means cybersecurity is no longer just a technical matter; it’s a strategic business priority. Organizations can proactively manage risks by integrating geopolitical analysis into their cybersecurity planning and strengthening their cyber resilience to protect against threats triggered by global events. 

State-sponsored actors regularly deploy sophisticated cyberattacks against critical infrastructure, supply chains, and commercial networks. Their tactics often include ransomware, espionage malware, and highly automated exploits, which makes attacks faster, more sophisticated, and increasingly difficult to detect.

Notable recent incidents tied to geopolitical tensions include:

• Operational disruptions, such as the 2022 attack on Viasat, a satellite communications provider, which disrupted internet services across Europe
• Managed service provider (MSP) breaches, exemplified by the 2021 Kaseya ransomware incident, which affected thousands of organizations globally through vulnerabilities exploited in MSP networks
• Targeting of financial services organizations for economic retaliation or strategic pressure, notably demonstrated by repeated distributed denial-of-service attacks on Ukrainian banks amid regional conflicts
• Healthcare and energy sector breaches, including the 2021 cyberattack on Colonial Pipeline that triggered fuel shortages across the U.S. East Coast and highlighted vulnerabilities in energy infrastructure

These examples underscore how businesses can experience severe collateral damage within the context of geopolitical conflicts. Organizations often assume they’re unlikely targets for cyberattacks because they haven’t provoked adversaries or aren’t directly involved in conflicts. However, many threat actors strategically target widely used service providers, shared infrastructure, or interconnected digital ecosystems. The interconnected nature of global commerce means cyberattacks can ripple across supply chains and digital networks within hours, and organizations with no obvious connection to global tensions can quickly become unintended casualties of cyber incidents intended for broader strategic purposes.

Why business leaders must pay attention

The impact of geopolitical cyberthreats goes far beyond technical disruptions. Following are four areas in which cyberthreats pose significant strategic risks that affect a business’s core operations as well as its reputation and regulatory standing.

• Business disruption. Cyberattacks can quickly escalate into prolonged operational downtime and significantly affect service delivery and customer relationships.
• Financial loss. Legal liabilities, regulatory fines, and costs associated with operational downtime, recovery, remediation efforts, and ransom payments can reach millions of dollars.
• Brand and reputation damage. Public perception and customer trust can suffer significantly after high-profile breaches, especially those involving sensitive data or critical services.
• Regulatory exposure. Attacks by foreign adversaries can trigger cross-border compliance issues and might require engagement with multiple regulatory bodies, which increases organizational complexity and scrutiny.

Managing cybersecurity risks amid geopolitical volatility

To manage the risks presented by this multifaceted and dangerous threat landscape, organizations can take critical, proactive actions.

• Assess exposure to geopolitical risk. Conducting comprehensive mapping exercises can pinpoint dependencies on suppliers, operations, and infrastructure located in geopolitically sensitive regions. Evaluating exposure through international partnerships, cross-border data transfers, and third-party vendor relationships further clarifies potential vulnerabilities.
• Enhance threat detection and response. Organizations should lower thresholds in threat detection systems to proactively identify subtle, anomalous activities indicative of early-stage cyberattacks. Deploying near real-time network monitoring, behavioral analytics, and anomaly detection technologies can identify threats swiftly before escalation occurs. Regularly testing and refining incident response plans helps organizations protect against scenarios such as targeted ransomware attacks or supply chain disruptions.
• Secure critical systems through isolation and segmentation. Clear protocols and mechanisms should be established to isolate sensitive or mission-critical systems during heightened geopolitical tensions or imminent threats. Robust segmentation strategies help prevent attackers from moving laterally across internal networks after an initial compromise.
• Strengthen collaboration with government and industry. Working with government agencies and industry organizations can help provide additional layers of defense. Organizations should take advantage of resources and threat intelligence from agencies such as the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the intelligence community, and their international counterparts. Actively engaging with Information Sharing and Analysis Centers and trusted industry-specific, intelligence-sharing platforms can provide insights into emerging threats and facilitate collaborative defensive strategies.
• Enhance workforce preparedness. Workforce preparedness remains a fundamental aspect of cyber resilience. Regular training sessions for employees at all levels, including executives, should focus on recognizing and responding to sophisticated, state-sponsored threats like phishing, social engineering, and advanced persistent threats. Additionally, conducting realistic simulations and tabletop exercises involving organizational leadership helps support quick, effective, and coordinated responses.
• Invest in resilient technologies and architectures. Investing in resilient technologies and architectures fortifies cybersecurity posture. Prioritizing cyber resilience during technology procurement decisions by selecting products that offer redundancy, fault tolerance, and rapid recovery capabilities is crucial. Adopting zero-trust architectures further minimizes exposure and swiftly mitigates potential damage from compromised credentials or unauthorized network access.

Cyber resilience in an uncertain world

With few enforceable international norms governing cyberspace, organizations face increasing uncertainty and risk, especially in critical industries such as finance, healthcare, manufacturing, and utilities. A reactive or insufficiently proactive cybersecurity posture leaves organizations vulnerable to catastrophic financial and operational consequences.

Building cyber resilience must be a strategic imperative that is integrated into every facet of organizational decision-making and risk management. Companies need to mitigate immediate threats and adapt swiftly and recover efficiently from attacks emerging from geopolitical conflicts. The cost of inadequate preparation can include immediate financial losses and lasting damage to competitive advantage, customer trust, and organizational viability.

Cybersecurity as a strategic priority

Geopolitical cybersecurity risks will likely grow in both scope and impact, so continual vigilance is essential. Organization leaders can embed cybersecurity as a strategic priority to facilitate proactive risk assessment, robust defensive practices, and swift, practiced response capabilities. Organizations that remain informed, agile, resilient, and capable of navigating uncertainty can better protect their critical systems, sensitive data, and trusted relationships.