"Russia Linked to Nearly 75% of Late 2021 Ransomware Attacks, Per Analysis"

According to a new analysis from the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), Russian actors accounted for around three-quarters of all recorded ransomware incidents in the latter part of 2021, contributing to the sharp increase in ransomware attacks seen in 2021 versus 2020. FinCEN officials attributed 594 of the ransomware-related activities recorded between July and December 2021 to Russia-linked actors, out of a total of 793 reported to the agency during that time period. During that time, the total cost of incidents was $488 million. Earlier in October, FinCEN released a more extensive report explaining that the amount of money lost to ransomware attacks increased from $527 million in 2020 to $886 million in 2021, representing a 68 percent increase in the cost of malicious cyberattacks. Officials recorded 1,251 ransomware attacks in 2021, compared to only 602 incidents in 2020. The newer report concentrated on ransomware variants, or individual versions of ransomware, and the prevalence of Russian actors in malware deployment. During the review period in 2021, FinCEN authors examined 84 unique ransomware variants and identified approximately 58 percent as being associated with suspected Russian cyber actors. This article continues to discuss FinCEN's report on ransomware trends.

NextGov reports "Russia Linked to Nearly 75% of Late 2021 Ransomware Attacks, Per Analysis"