From zdnet.com
The number of ransomware attacks has gone down in recent months because sanctions against Russia are making it harder for cyber criminals to organise attacks and receive ransom payments, Rob Joyce director of cybersecurity at the National Security Agency (NSA) has revealed.
Ransomware attacks have long been a major cybersecurity issue for organisations around the world, affecting computer networks running critical infrastructure, hospitals, businesses and more.
Some of the most significant ransomware events of the last year have hit targets in the United States, including the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack, which restricted gas supplies for large parts of the country – and resulted in a ransom payment of millions of dollars being paid to cyber criminals.
“Ransomware is a huge aspect of where we learned cybersecurity is national security. And we’re seeing the criminal element push through and impacting not only the businesses, but all the way into governments and society at large,” said Joyce, speaking at the National Cyber Security Centre’s (NCSC) Cyber UK event in Newport, Wales.