U.S. banks processed roughly $1.2 billion in ransomware payments in 2021, according to federal report

U.S. banks and fiscal institutions processed astir $1.2 cardinal successful apt ransomware payments successful 2021, a caller grounds and astir triple the magnitude successful 2020, according to a national fiscal crimes watchdog.

The full represents payments slope clients person made to imaginable cybercriminals; U.S. banks study the suspicious transactions to national authorities nether the Bank Secrecy Act.

Over fractional the ransomware attacks are attributed to suspected Russian cyber hackers, according to a caller study released Tuesday from the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, oregon FinCEN, which analyzed the data.

The study reflects a sweeping authorities effort to place and study ransomware attacks pursuing the hacking of U.S.-based Colonial Pipeline's IT web successful May 2021. Company CEO Joseph Blount Jr. paid Russian-based cybercriminals $5 million. The Justice Department aboriginal recovered astir fractional of the ransom.

Leaders from 36 countries and the European Union met Tuesday successful Washington to sermon effectual counteraction against ransomware threats. Ransomware attacks are a benignant of cyberattack wherever a hacker installs malicious bundle connected a machine oregon server that threatens to merchandise information oregon blocks entree to it until a ransom is paid.

FinCEN said determination were 1,489 ransomware incidents costing astir $1.2 cardinal past year, a important emergence from $416 cardinal successful damages recorded successful 2020, according to the report.

FinCEN's investigation covers the 2021 calendar twelvemonth with a absorption connected the 2nd fractional of the year. The bureau said 4 of the wide apical 5 ransomware attacks reported during this play are tied to Russia. Around 75% of ransomware-related incidents are besides related to the country.

The surge successful reports mightiness beryllium owed to a step-up successful enforcement since the Colonial Pipeline attack, according to the analysis. The onslaught unopen down the pipeline for days, causing substance shortages successful the Southeast and snarling aerial postulation crossed overmuch of the U.S. President Joe Biden declared a authorities of exigency arsenic a result.

In March, Biden signed a measure requiring immoderate businesses to study definite cyber incidents and ransomware payments to the Cybersecurity, Infrastructure and Security Agency. CISA besides launched a campaign to trim the risks of ransomware successful January 2021.