Despite the efforts of the Biden administration to clamp down, ransomware activity remains extraordinarily profitable. In 2021, the average ransom demand in cases handled by Palo Altos’ Unit 42 security team exceeded $500,000 on average. In 2021 alone, U.S. institutions identified $1.2 billion in transactions as potential ransomware payments, a statistic that likely undercounts the entire amount of ransomware payments worldwide.
Beyond vital infrastructure, ransomware continues to be a global problem, affecting hospital operations, schools, and, most recently, the Guardian newspaper.
After a series of ransomware attacks crippled the United States’ key infrastructure last year, the Biden administration made it a top priority to combat the ransomware scourge. In May of 2021, a ransomware assault on Colonial Pipeline delayed gasoline distribution on the East Coast. A month later, a ransomware assault on the meatpacking company JBS USA posed a danger to food supply.
The government has levied a series of penalties on ransomware perpetrators, cryptocurrency exchanges, and mixers in an effort to undermine the financial infrastructure ransomware attackers depend on to carry out attacks and generate profits.
The task force is the most recent component of the Biden National Security Council’s efforts to dissuade ransomware operators and comes under the Counter Ransomware Initiative, a 36-country and European Union-wide alliance.
As stated at a recent meeting in Washington, Australia will head the International Counter Ransomware Task Force, which includes the U.S. and its allies, in an attempt to promote better international information sharing and the exchange of ransomware-fighting tools.
Australia is in the lead as a result of really severe ransomware assaults. They acknowledge that the network and its users are worldwide, thus tackling the problem needs global operational relationships.
The Australian minister for cybersecurity wants to announce in the coming days that a worldwide task force to combat ransomware will become operational next month, the next step in a global campaign that started in Washington to combat the rising number of attacks.
Information security specialist, currently working as risk infrastructure specialist & investigator.
15 years of experience in risk and control process, security audit support, business continuity design and support, workgroup management and information security standards.