The US Military Has Taken Action Against Ransomware Groups and ‘Imposed Costs’

“The U.S. military has gone on the offensive against ransomware groups,” reports CNET, “as U.S. companies increasingly become targets of malware attacks, the nation’s top cyber defender acknowledged on Saturday.” Up until about nine months ago, reining in ransomware attacks was seen as the responsibility of law enforcement agencies, Gen. Paul M. Nakasone, the head of U.S. Cyber Command and director of the National Security Agency, told the New York Times. But attacks like the ones on Colonial Pipeline and JBS beef plants have been “impacting our critical infrastructure,” Nakasone said, leading federal agencies to ramp up the gathering and sharing of intelligence on ransomware groups…. Nakasone didn’t describe the action taken or identify the groups targeted, but said one of the goals is to “impose costs” for ransomware groups. “Before, during and since, with a number of elements of our government, we have taken actions and we have imposed costs,” Nakasone said. “That’s an important piece that we should always be mindful of.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.