Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – As technology develops, more and more cyber criminals emerge. There are various methods to trick victims.
Most popular lately are cybercriminals who hold data hostage and demand ransom. Usually the targets are government institutions and companies.
To combat the actions of data hostage takers, 40 countries have agreed not to pay ransoms if they are hit by a ransomware attack.
They are members of an alliance led by the United States (US). A senior White House official said the alliance was taking action in an effort to eliminate the hackers’ funding mechanisms.
The International Ransomware Countermeasures Initiative comes as the number of ransomware attacks increases worldwide. The US was the most affected country, with 46% of such attacks occurring.
“As long as there is money flowing to ransomware criminals, this is a problem that will continue to grow,” said Anne Neuberger, deputy US national security adviser in the Biden administration for cyber and emerging technologies, quoted from ReutersWednesday (1/11/2023).
In a ransomware attack, hackers encrypt an organization’s systems and demand a ransom payment in exchange for unlocking those systems.
Often they also steal sensitive data and use it to blackmail victims and leak it in online forums if they do not pay the requested ransom.
While hundreds of companies fall victim each year, the highest-profile attacks in the US occurred in the past two months against casino operator MGM Resorts International and cleaning products maker Clorox. Both companies have not fully recovered from the disruption.
The new initiative undertaken by the alliance aims to defund criminals through better information sharing about ransom payment accounts.
Two information sharing platforms will be created, one by Lithuania and another by Israel and the UAE.
Partner countries will share a “blacklist” through the US Treasury Department that will include information about digital wallets used to move ransomware payments, Neuberger said.
He added that the effort will use artificial intelligence to analyze blockchain with the aim of identifying illicit funds.
The volume of crypto payments to ransomware hackers reached its second-largest on record, blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis said in July.
[Gambas:Video CNBC]
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