Russia and Ransomware Attacks
Russia has recently launched a ransomware attack on a massive scale targeting an American information technology (IT) firm. The Russian hackers entered an IT company named Keseya based out of Miami, Florida. Following the attack on the company, the hackers breached Kaseya’s clients and associated managed service providers (MSPs). The MSPs employ software created by Kaseya, which automatically installs updates on client networks. This auto-updating mechanism enabled the hackers to install ransomware on thousands of the company’s clients. Utilizing this pre-made infrastructure, the Russians hacked over 1,500 other companies in 17 different countries. According to the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, the government agencies were not able to respond to assist the victims due to the massive size of the attack. Responsibility was claimed by the cybercriminal group called REvil, who stated a demand for $70 million in exchange for a decryption key to end the ransomware attack. REvi