Changes In The Ransomware Landscape | Avast

Changes In The Ransomware Landscape | Avast
Christopher Budd, 15 June 2021

While the government has released cybersecurity requirements many times in the past, it's the first time we’ve seen them issued so quickly in response to a known attack



Are ransomware attacks on the rise? It would certainly seem so. From the Colonial Pipeline to JBS to Ireland’s Health Service, the effects of ransomware are being felt far and wide. At the same time though, the US government has responded to these attacks in new ways that are already having an impact on ransomware operators and could signal a new, positive phase in the battle against ransomware.
Colonial Pipeline was hit with a ransomware attack that shut down their pipeline system for nearly a week in early May of this year. The company said that while the pipeline system itself was not affected, their internal networks were, leading to the shutdown. Colonial Pipeline is a major fuel supplier to the United States East Coast, supplying 45% of fuel to the region. As a result, the shutdown had immediate effects, which were worsened by panic-buying induced shortages. 
Then, in early June, a ransomware attack against JBS — the world’s largest meat processor — shut down processing at nine beef plants and disrupted operations at pork and poultry plants across the US. JBS was able to return to operation within a week.
The timing of these significant attacks, one after the other, has garnered a lot of attentio ..

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