Ransomware Attack Targets Thousands Of Computers Worldwide Including Those In The US

Thousands of computer systems globally, including in the U.S., were exposed to a ransomware attack days after a U.K. financial software firm, ION, was subject to a similar attack. 

What Happened: Days after the derivatives trading company in the U.K was the target of a hack, a ransomware attack targeting specific sorts of systems exposed thousands of computer systems globally.

Apart from the U.S., security organizations said that France, Italy and Canada were among those impacted, reported Bloomberg. 

See Also: Finnish Hacker Charged With Extorting Psychotherapy Clinic, Used Patients’ Medical Records To Seek Ransom

The French Computer Emergency Response Team stated that simply applying patches will not protect the systems. Hackers might have taken advantage and “dropped malicious code.” 

At this point, it is unclear whether any group has claimed responsibility for the latest attack. LockBit was the gang behind last week’s attack on ION. 

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Officials in Italy will meet on Monday to assess the situation and figure out how to deal with it. 

Why It’s Important: According to the U.S. Justice Department, LockBit has been active since around January 2020. The gang has extorted about $100 million in ransom demands, the report noted. 

Previously, a January report noted that ransomware extortion decreased by at least 40% in 2022, primarily due to victims finally refusing to pay the attackers. However, the number of active strains has increased significantly. 

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