Dozens of countries will pledge to stop paying ransomware gangs

An confederation of 40 countries will motion a promise during nan 3rd yearly International Counter-Ransomware Initiative acme successful Washington, D.C., to extremity paying ransoms demanded by cybercriminal groups.

Addressing reporters connected Monday, Anne Neuberger, nan White House's Deputy National Security Adviser for Cyber and Emerging Technology, implied this inaugural is successful consequence to grounds ransomware risks worldwide, pinch nan U.S. being nan target of astir 46% of these incidents.

Starting Wednesday, world discussions during nan acme will besides attraction connected strategies to artifact nan costs utilized by ransomware groups to finance their operations, Reuters first reported.

"Ransomware is an rumor that knows nary borders. And arsenic agelong arsenic there's money flowing to ransomware criminals … nan problem will proceed to grow," Neuberger told reporters connected Monday.

"We want to return a push astatine nan origin of nan ransomware, which is nan financing of it, and do that together. This was a really large lift, and we're still successful nan last throes of getting each past personnel to sign, but we're beautiful overmuch there, which is exciting," a elder management charismatic added while answering questions regarding nan anti-ransomware group's work, according to The Messenger.

While representatives from 48 countries, nan European Union, and Interpol will be this week's Counter-Ransomware Initiative summit, not each person confirmed that they will motion this week's anti-ransomware statement, according to Neuberger.

Ransomware records

Ransomware incidents surged successful September, pursuing an elevated but comparatively quieter play successful August, which still exceeded emblematic summertime figures.

Data from NCC Group revealed a full of 514 ransomware attacks successful September, surpassing March 2023's record of 459 incidents aft a activity of Clop's Fortra GoAnywhere information theft attacks.

Geographically, North America knowledgeable astir of these attacks astatine 50%, followed by Europe astatine 30%, and Asia classed 3rd pinch 9%.

During nan past 2 years, aggregate governments were severely affected aft ransomware attacks deed captious infrastructure and authorities entities, including Montenegro, Chile, and Bermuda, pinch Costa Rica forced to state a nationalist emergency aft nan May 2022 Conti ransomware attacks.

The White House National Security Council facilitated nan first Counter-Ransomware Initiative summit successful October 2021, erstwhile 31 countries vowed to summation efforts toward disrupting ransomware groups' maltreatment of cryptocurrency aft ransomware payments reached almost $500 million successful conscionable 2 years ($400 cardinal successful 2020 and complete $80 cardinal successful Q1 2021).

The aforesaid month, The U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) linked astir $5.2 cardinal of outgoing Bitcoin transactions to ransomware-related payments.