"An Ambitious Plan to Tackle Ransomware Faces Long Odds"

A public-private partnership has been formed in support of developing a coordinated response to ransomware attacks. A comprehensive framework, supervised by the Institute for Security and Technology's (IST) Ransomware Task Force (RTF), proposes the use of a more aggressive public-private response to ransomware instead of the traditional piecemeal approach. Members of the task force include Amazon Web Services, Cisco, Microsoft, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the United Kingdom National Crime Agency (NCA). The framework includes recommendations from cybersecurity firms, incident responders, nonprofits, government agencies, and academics. It also calls on organizations in the public and private sector to increase efforts towards improving defenses, developing response plans, regulating cryptocurrencies, and strengthening and expanding international law enforcement collaboration. The report outlines the threat posed by ransomware actors and actions that could minimize the threat. It delves into how the US could work out diplomatic relationships to involve more countries in ransomware response, and engage those that have served as safe havens for ransomware groups. This article continues to discuss the purpose and recommendations of the RTF report, along with questions surrounding the new framework aimed at tackling ransomware in a coordinated manner.

Wired reports "An Ambitious Plan to Tackle Ransomware Faces Long Odds"