No Ransom Payments for Hackers, Announces American-led Cybersecurity Coalition
Along with a host of allied nations, the U.S. government announced on Tuesday that it would be expanding its long-held hostage policy to hacking. Announced at the third annual meeting of the largest cyber partnership in the world, the International Counter Ransomware Initiative (CRI), the joint pledge declares that the majority of the 48 member nations will refuse to pay ransom demands to hackers. The list of nations who have yet agreed to join the pledge is unknown, though the declaration marks a stunning multi-national agreement to counter a threat that has reached an all-time high and continues to grow.
As the estimated payment victims will have paid ransomware groups by the end of the year is on pace to surpass $900 million, deputy national security advisor Anne Neuberger hopes the initiative will “counter the illicit finance that underpins the ransomware ecosystem.” As major U.S. companies have been forced to pay millions to hackers in the past, causing major disruptions to their operations, companies are encouraged to invest heavily in their security and backup practices to avoid finding themselves in such situations. The full scope of the agreement is yet to be revealed, and more information will certainly become available in the coming weeks.
Key Takeaways:
- Escalation of Ransomware Attacks: Ransomware attacks are on the rise globally, and the United States is particularly hard-hit, accounting for 46% of these incidents. This means that organizations, regardless of their size, face an elevated risk from these constantly evolving threats. It's imperative to grasp the growing prevalence of ransomware to bolster your cybersecurity measures effectively.
- High-Profile Ransomware Incidents: Recent high-profile ransomware attacks on companies such as MGM Resorts International and Clorox underline the significant disruptions and financial impacts that these attacks can have.
- How To safeguard your company: Start by investing in strong cybersecurity measures, such as continuous employee training, robust access controls, and keeping your software up to date. Regularly back up your critical data and develop a well-tested incident response plan. Vigilance in these areas is the best defense against ransomware attacks.
Alliance of 40 countries to vow not to pay ransom to cybercriminals, US says - Reuters
Insight from this week
Meta Launches Paid Ad-Free Subscriptions for European Consumers
Meta announced it would be launching a Paid Ad-free subscription in Europe as part of an effort to tackle its ongoing struggles with EU regulators. The subscription, which will cost a little under the equivalent of $14, will remove ads from Facebook and Instagram in an effort to “comply with evolving European regulations,” according to the company’s blog. Meta has been embroiled in a battle with European regulators over its ad targeting and data collection practices, and hopes this new subscription offering will address those concerns without sacrificing the effectiveness of its ad-supported model. The move will come as a relief to many willing subscribers in the EU and Switzerland, who have long voiced concerns about Meta’s targeted advertising and data collection. It remains unclear, however, whether this will be enough to shake the ire of European regulators, who have been far more outspoken and successful in their battle against the company than their American counterparts.
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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released an expanded version of a previously released, heavily redacted complaint against Amazon on Thursday, which alleges Amazon used an algorithm to illegally inflate prices to American households, generating over $1 Billion in excess profit. The original complaint was filed in September, but this new version shed light onto the scale of Amazon’s organized efforts to push prices. A secret algorithm called “Project Nessie,” which Amazon began testing in 2010, was used to “identify specific products for which it predicts other online stores will follow Amazon's price increases…extract[ing] more than a billion dollars directly from Americans' pocketbooks,” according to the FTC. Amidst a host of other concerns raised by the FTC over Amazon’s business practices in the September lawsuit, this concerted effort to inflate prices is certain to capture the attention of the American public.
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Read Article from NPR