Weeks after DarkSide attacked Colonial, REvil used ransomware to try to extort money from JBS, one of the world’s largest meat processors. The attack forced the company to shutter nine beef plants in the United States, disrupted poultry and pork plants, and had significant effects on grocery stores and restaurants, which have had to charge more or remove meat products from their menus.
In recent weeks, ransomware has also crippled the hospital that serves the Villages in Florida, the largest retirement community in the United States; television networks; N.B.A. and minor league baseball teams; and even ferries to Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts.
The episodes have elevated digital vulnerabilities into the national consciousness. White House officials said last week that they were working to address issues with cryptocurrency, which has enabled ransomware attacks for years.
Last week, Christopher A. Wray, the F.B.I. director, likened the threat of ransomware attacks to the challenge of global terrorism in the days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
“There are a lot of parallels, there’s a lot of importance, and a lot of focus by us on disruption and prevention,” he said. “There’s a shared responsibility, not just across government agencies, but across the private sector and even the average American.”
Mr. Wray added that the F.B.I. was investigating 100 software variants used in ransomware attacks, demonstrating the scale of the problem.
Though U.S. officials have been careful not to directly tie the ransomware attacks to Russia, Mr. Biden, Mr. Wray and others have said that the country protects cybercriminals.
Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/07/us/politics/pipeline-attack.html
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