US Treasury recorded the activation of cyber ransomware in 2021
WASHINGTON – For the first half of 2021, the US financial departments recorded payments totaling $ 590 million related to the activities of hackers who used ransomware, learned BulgarianMilitary.com on Friday, citing data from the US Treasury.
- Russia is behind the cyber-attacks against US federal agencies, AP reports
- Cyber defense consortium is being set up in Israel
- US military ‘cyber soldiers’ could attack Russian hackers
- Iranian hackers threaten the US, Israeli, and EU defense companies
This is 42% more than the same figure for the entire 2020, the ministry said.
“If this trend does not change, then in 2021 alone, transactions related to the activities of cyber ransomware will exceed the total figure for the previous 10 years,” the ministry said.
In recent months, the United States has faced a series of powerful cyberattacks aimed at obtaining ransoms.
In late September, senators on the US National Security Committee introduced legislation requiring companies to notify the federal government of cyberattacks and payments to hackers. The initiative proposes requiring owners and operators of critical infrastructures to report cyberattacks to the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency [CISA] within 72 hours.
Nonprofits, businesses with more than 50 employees, and government and local governments will have to notify the federal government within 24 hours if they pay a ransom to the ransomware.
GRU’s 85th main special center
The intelligence services of Britain and the United States claim that a Russian military unit known as “Military Unit 26165” and the 85th major special center of the GRU has caused hundreds of cyberattacks around the world, targeting governments and individuals.
Several government agencies on the island and the ocean support their claims with reports and a joint document released today. These are the US Internal Security Agency, the US Infrastructure and Cyber Security Agency (CISA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the UK National Cybersecurity Center.
“From the beginning of 2019 to the beginning of 2021 <…> GRU conducted widespread attempts at access against hundreds of public and private targets around the world,” the text reads.
“The malicious activity in the cybersphere of the 85th main special center of the GRU was previously attributed to the private sector, using the names [hacker groups] Fancy Bear, APT28, Strontium and many others,” the document said.
The intelligence services of the two countries claim that such actions are known and according to them, they will continue in the future.
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