Ransoms Paid are at a 300% Increase From the Previous Year; CISA Launches StopRansomware.gov

CISA provides online citizens with multiple resources for different attack stages, from the beginning to the post-attack era.

The Ransoms Paid are Increasing

While companies are urged not to pay ransoms to recover data, significant payouts have been made in just the last six months alone, indicating the increasing severity of ransomware.

According to DOJ news, approximately USD350 million in ransoms was paid in 2020, more than a 300% increase from the previous year.

There have been significant attacks against corporations and critical infrastructures like Colonial Pipeline Co. by DarkSide or other healthcare organizations that forced systems to go offline and service disruptions.

This tells us that ransomware posed not just threats to organizations but national security.

Early this month, they updated the CSET for Ransomware Defense for companies or individuals to evaluate the preparedness of an attack.

But for all the ransomware victims out there, resources for education and recovery and response should be more accessible for the public.

StopRansomware.gov

That is why CISA launches another tool — a one-stop-shop, StopRansomware.gov provides relevant information to support organizations to protect against and respond to ransomware attacks.

According to the official releases:

The StopRansomware.gov webpage is an interagency resource that provides our partners and stakeholders with ransomware protection, detection, and response guidance that they can use on a single website.

This includes ransomware alerts, reports, and resources from CISA, the FBI, and other federal partners.

This new website helps cyber-defenders learn more about, protect against, and counter ransomware attacks.

StopRansomware.gov positions itself as a “whole-of-government approach that gives one central location for ransomware resources and alerts,” according to the releases.

What’s In it

This website contains valuable information, including ransomware alerts, reports, and resources from CISA, the FBI, and other federal partners.

It is a great starting point for security professionals with different levels of knowledge about ransomware.

It helps visitors to understand three main questions:

1. What is Ransomware?
   
2. Have You Been Hit By Ransomware?
   
3. Third, how to Avoid Being Hit by Ransomware?

Those are separated into three sections where defenders can find educational resources and best practices for analyzing and containing an attack and links to training and webinars to strengthen ransomware response.

Another key benefit of the launch of this website is that it consolidates helpful resources and information in a single destination.

So from now on, companies and individuals who need that information at hand would get them faster and easier.

Additionally, for individuals or companies from the US, this website provides a way for them to work with the federal government to address the ransomware situation (the crime scene).

Read the following references for more details:

https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ncas/current-activity/2021/07/15/new-stopransomwaregov-website-us-governments-one-stop-location

https://www.cisa.gov/stopransomware

https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ncas/current-activity/2021/07/04/cisa-fbi-guidance-msps-and-their-customers-affected-kaseya-vsa

Thank you for reading. May InfoSec be with you🖖.

First published here.