Even before the Russian aggression in Ukraine, US officials warned of cyber-attacks against key US infrastructure, demanding money from their “victims” in exchange for stolen information. These attacks originated in Russia. Already US security agencies are increasingly cracking down on networks used by illegal cyber actors.
Cyber-attacks, where attackers demand money in exchange, have become a major security threat worldwide. According to experts, hackers aim to hit important infrastructure such as oil pipelines or water purification facilities.
Experts say hackers first insert viruses into companies’ computer systems and then demand large sums of money to unlock the data, or not make it public.
Such attacks can damage an enterprise or business and cause huge financial losses.
“These kinds of attacks have changed radically in the last two years. It used to happen that they simply encrypted their target data. They are still doing this, but they are also stealing a copy of that target information and then threatening to publish it online in order to make a lot of money,” said Brett Callow, an expert at Emsisoft.
In 2018, a small company on average paid about 5 thousand dollars to hackers, in case it fell prey to cyber attacks. Today these payments have reached hundreds of thousands of dollars. Some hackers demand payments in the millions of dollars. Payments are usually made in cryptocurrencies, making them more difficult to track.
“These kinds of attacks continue to be a problem. If no company were to pay these fines imposed by hackers, there would be no attacks of this nature,” Brett Callow, an expert with Emsisoft, told VOA.
Experts say hackers are well-organized and operate as businesses, with departments and support staff. They also carefully choose their objectives.
“They are not unaware of what they are going to attack. They create a complete profile of an organization that they think is vulnerable and likely to pay for and then attack it,” Boyden Rohner of the Cyber Security and Infrastructure Security Agency told VOA.
U.S. officials say hackers are often based in Eastern Europe. In some cases, they act as ordinary criminal groups, while in others they are supported by governments.
“We see Russia as a country where many of these attacks come from,” Boyden Rohner of the Cyber Security and Infrastructure Security Agency told VOA.
Last year, President Joe Biden repeatedly urged Russian leader Vladimir Putin to stop cybercrime originating in his country. By the end of 2021, the number of large-scale attacks fell and some analysts believe the reason was US diplomatic pressure.
But others say cybercriminals became more cautious as U.S. security agencies stepped up efforts to combat these attacks, including bringing back extorted money, sanctions, arrests and lawsuits.
Despite this, cybersecurity company Emsisoft says at least 2,323 US entities were targeted in 2021, including local governments, schools and hospitals.
Stolen data, including social security numbers, usually ends up in so-called dark websites. These crimes harm individuals as identity theft is a major problem.
“The worst consequences are the possible effects on individuals. For example, people who may not be able to get medical attention when they need it after their hospital has been hacked” said Brett Callow of Emsisoft.
Experts recommend that copies of important data be stored on devices that are not connected to the Internet. / VOA/