Unless you live under a rock, you've no doubt noticed a spike in cybersecurity coverage across the news media. Reports that Russian president Vladimir Putin approved actions to undermine the U.S. presidential election have been verified by cybersecurity experts, and it looks like good 'ole Vlad isn't finished: there are still other elections his office seeks to influence.

If your cybersecurity practices are lacking in any regard, cybercriminals will expose the flaws and use them to their advantage. Though cyber insurance will cover the financial damages of a cyberattack, you need to instill top-notch cybersecurity practices in your organization to keep from becoming an easy target. As the United States and Czech Republic can attest, not practicing safe cyber techniques can cause widespread chaos.

"Czech" Mate: Russia Infiltrates Czech Republic Cybersecurity
Despite the denial of certain world leaders, Russia did indeed interfere in the U.S. 2016 presidential election, and now the Kremlin is working to inflict the same amount damage on other western elections.

The Czech Republic has announced that they have experienced an injurious cybersecurity breach after foreign-actors were able to gain access to the emails of dozens of the Czech Republic's senior diplomats, including LubomÃÂ_r Zaorálek, the country's foreign minister.

Discovered by cybersecurity experts employed with the Czech foreign ministry, Zaorálek said that \"when [he] discussed [the breach] with the best experts [the ministry has], they told [him] that the character of the attack was such that the attack was very sophisticated, that it must have been, according to [the experts], conducted by a foreign state. ...[They] also told [Zaorálek] that the way the attack was done very much resemble[d] the character of the attacks against the system of the Democratic party in the United States."

Because of the nature of the cyberattack and the information that was taken, experts believe Russia was is responsible for the breach. Unsurprisingly, Russia has denied any involvement in the cybersecurity breaches of the United States and the Czech Republic.  

First the United States... Now Germany
In December 2016, Germany's own domestic intelligence agency reported that they too found evidence that Russia was working to influence the German public's opinion of Angela Merkel as they had found \"active measures\" taken by Russian foreign-actors to spread fake news and misinformation.

Deputy president of Germany's domestic security agency BfV, Thomas Haldenwang, said in a conference as early as June 2016 that Russia's effort \"to influence public perception and opinion in [Germany was] to the detriment of the German government.\"

Chancellor Merkel has been an outspoken critic of Russia's former KGB agent turned Russian president Vladimir Putin and his country's military presence in the Ukraine and their military tactics in Syria. Merkel's outspokenness has made her reelection for chancellor a target for Putin and his cronies, and as he and WikiLeaks worked to defame the DNC and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, so now they are doing to other progressive candidates running for election or reelection in other western political arenas.

There is much at threat when you don't have a cybersecurity protocol. To learn more about cybersecurity and insurance, visit CyberPolicy.