The Department of Justice (DoJ) said today it has charged the alleged mastermind of the LockBit ransomware group – regarded by U.S. authorities as among the most prolific attackers worldwide since 2022 – with more than two dozen Federal crimes.
Officials from the health care and education sectors called on Congress Wednesday to provide better Federal aid to state and local governments to not only respond to ransomware attacks, but also to help prevent them.
As ransomware continues to be a severe issue that is plaguing many across the cybersecurity landscape, a new update has just been released through the Joint Ransomware Task Force (JRTF) to address these growing threats.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced on Monday its new Ransomware Vulnerability Warning Pilot (RVWP) to warn critical infrastructure entities of vulnerabilities commonly associated with known ransomware exploitation.
Cybersecurity firm Emsisoft’s tally of publicly disclosed ransomware attacks in 2022 included 105 counties, 45 school districts, 44 colleges and universities, and over two dozen healthcare providers.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a Nov. 16 report that Federal agencies need to up their ransomware assistance for state, local, Tribal, and territorial (SLTT) government organizations – including schools – by improving interagency collaboration, awareness, outreach, communication, and coordination with schools.
Federal officials urged state and local government and education leaders this week to focus on some of the Federal government’s top existing resources in the fight against ransomware attacks – including one principle that’s easy to say but harder to do – don’t meet ransom demands.
The nation’s second largest school district is still recovering from a ransomware attack that took place over a month ago. In an Oct. 2 update, Los Angeles Unified School District’s (LAUSD) Superintendent Albert Carvalho said the syndicate group responsible for the cyberattack has leaked the stolen data.
The Federal government’s Joint Ransomware Task Force (JRTF) kicked off its inaugural meeting with a discussion of new initiatives to collaborate with state, local, tribal, and territorial entities to protect against ransomware intrusions and disrupt malicious actors, according to a September 14 press release from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).
A ransomware attack in Somerset County, New Jersey has shut down the county’s email and IT system forcing officials to switch off their computers and set up temporary Gmail accounts so residents can still reach key agencies, according to a county press release.
