FBI issues High Impact Ransomware Warning to U.S. Organizations

FBI Warns Businesses and Organizations of Rising “High-Impact” Ransomware Threat due to string of attacks against cities, school districts and hospitals.

 “Since early 2018, the incidence of broad, indiscriminate ransomware campaigns has sharply declined, but the losses from ransomware attacks have increased significantly,” the alert reads, citing complaints data collected by the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.

The FBI noted that malicious actors mostly use email phishing campaigns, software vulnerabilities and remote desktop protocol vulnerabilities to infect systems with the ransomware viruses.

After describing the possible techniques criminals use to infect ransomware, the agency said that if at all an attack occurs, the victim should refrain from paying the ransom.

“Paying ransoms emboldens criminals to target other organizations and provides an alluring and lucrative enterprise to other criminals. However, the FBI understands that when businesses are faced with an inability to function, executives will evaluate all options to protect their shareholders, employees, and customers,” the announcement explained

The FBI recommended that businesses have all systems and data backed up, to ensure all software is up to date, and to train employees on how to spot potential ransomware attacks.

“The time to invest in backups and other cyber defenses is before an attacker strikes, not afterward when it may be too late,” the FBI wrote.

Reference:

https://www.ic3.gov/media/2019/191002.aspx