Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

SecurityWeekSecurityWeek

Cybercrime

US Takes New Aim at Ransomware After Most Costly Year

The Justice Department is taking new aim at ransomware after a year that officials say was the most costly on record for the crippling cyberattacks.

The Justice Department is taking new aim at ransomware after a year that officials say was the most costly on record for the crippling cyberattacks.

Formation of a task force of FBI agents and Justice Department prosecutors is an acknowledgment of the growing threat posed by ransomware attacks, in which hackers lock up computer data and demand ransom payments in order to give it back. The force is part of a broader government effort to combat cyberattacks that target vital infrastructure, including a 100-day Biden administration initiative to bolster the digital security of electricity in the nation.

Ransomware attacks have impeded hospital operations, led to the temporary closure of school classes and caused other chaos. Last year was the worst to date in terms of the economic toll, with ransom demands to victims averaging over $100,000 and in some cases totaling tens of millions of dollars, according to the Justice Department.

“Ransomware can have devastating human and financial consequences,” Acting Deputy Attorney General John Carlin wrote in a staff memo dated Tuesday and provided Wednesday by the Justice Department. “When criminals target critical infrastructure such as hospitals, utilities, and municipal networks, their activity jeopardizes the safety and health of Americans.”

[ WebinarPreventing Novel BEC Attacks: Lessons Learned and Best Practices Featuring FBI Cyber Supervisory Agent (April 27) ]

The Justice Department has brought indictments related to ransomware attacks, including a 2018 case against two Iranian nationals whose many victims included the cities of Atlanta and Newark, New Jersey and resulted in losses of $30 million. Federal prosecutors have also a ccused North Korean computer programmers of launching a global ransomware campaign dubbed WannaCry 2.0.

But the threat has grown more sophisticated. As it imposed sanctions on Russia last week for election interference and the hacking of federal agencies, the Treasury Department said Russian intelligence had enabled ransomware attacks by cultivating and co-opting criminal hackers and giving them safe harbor.

Against that backdrop, the task force is designed to enhance the department’s ability to disrupt ransomware attacks and prosecute the hackers responsible for them, including through more training and resources. Another purpose is to improve partnerships with the private sector, including by encouraging victim companies to come forward and report attacks, and with international partners.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

The group will include representatives from the Justice Department’s criminal and national security divisions, among others.

The Wall Street Journal was first to report creation of the task force.

Written By

Click to comment

Trending

Daily Briefing Newsletter

Subscribe to the SecurityWeek Email Briefing to stay informed on the latest threats, trends, and technology, along with insightful columns from industry experts.

Join the session as we discuss the challenges and best practices for cybersecurity leaders managing cloud identities.

Register

SecurityWeek’s Ransomware Resilience and Recovery Summit helps businesses to plan, prepare, and recover from a ransomware incident.

Register

Expert Insights

Related Content

Cybercrime

The changing nature of what we still generally call ransomware will continue through 2023, driven by three primary conditions.

Cybercrime

A recently disclosed vBulletin vulnerability, which had a zero-day status for roughly two days last week, was exploited in a hacker attack targeting the...

Cybercrime

As it evolves, web3 will contain and increase all the security issues of web2 – and perhaps add a few more.

Cybercrime

Luxury retailer Neiman Marcus Group informed some customers last week that their online accounts had been breached by hackers.

Cybercrime

Zendesk is informing customers about a data breach that started with an SMS phishing campaign targeting the company’s employees.

Ransomware

A SaaS ransomware attack against a company’s Sharepoint Online was done without using a compromised endpoint.

Cybercrime

Patch Tuesday: Microsoft calls attention to a series of zero-day remote code execution attacks hitting its Office productivity suite.

Artificial Intelligence

The release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in late 2022 has demonstrated the potential of AI for both good and bad.