The United States announced on Thursday that it has earmarked a financial reward of $10 million for anyone who provides information leading to the identification of those responsible for the "DarkSide" hacking group, which specializes in ransomware. The U.S. government accuses this group, based in Russia, of being behind recent attacks, particularly targeting the "Colonial Pipeline," a major refined oil products pipeline network in the United States.
Ransomware attacks are extortion operations carried out by hackers who exploit security vulnerabilities in the networks of companies or individuals, infiltrating these networks and encrypting their data before demanding ransom, typically paid in cryptocurrency, in exchange for restoring access to the network.
In a statement, the U.S. State Department said, "By offering this reward, the United States demonstrates its commitment to preventing cybercriminals from exploiting ransomware victims around the world." Washington also offered a second reward of $5 million for information leading to the arrest or indictment of anyone attempting to participate in an attack on behalf of DarkSide, regardless of the location.
The recent attacks targeting the oil pipeline network, a meat processing company, and the email system at Microsoft Exchange have drawn attention to the vulnerabilities of American infrastructure against digital hackers who extort large sums from these major companies. Experts say that DarkSide comprises seasoned cybercriminals who infiltrate the systems of companies, often based in the West, seize their data, and financially extort them to "return" this data.
Cybercrime is on the rise, with the latest data released in October showing that U.S. authorities received reports of $590 million in payments related to ransomware in the first half of this year, an increase of 42% compared to the total ransomware payments reported by financial institutions in all of 2020, according to a report by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Experts believe the actual costs are much higher, likely in the billions. Companies and organizations are under extreme pressure to pay the demanded amount to regain access to their data, as well as to cover up the attack to prevent customers and authorities from learning about it, since there is a strict warning against paying ransoms to criminals.
