It is proposed to fight against ransomware in the same way as against organized crime and terrorism.
Interpol (International Criminal Police Organization) Secretary General Jürgen Stock urged police officers and industry colleagues to work together to prevent a “ransomware pandemic” in the future.
Stock said the best tactic for curbing a potentially endless stream of ransomware attacks is to use the same international cooperation strategy as in the fight against organized crime and terrorism.
“Ransomware has become too big a threat. Organizations or companies cannot fight alone. The magnitude of this problem urgently requires joint global action, which Interpol can promote as a neutral and reliable global partner, ”the Interpol explained.
In December 2020, more than 20 thousand arrests and illegal financial transactions worth more than $ 150 million were intercepted during Operation First Light. Interpol also coordinated the neutralization of thousands of online trading platforms posing as legitimate pharmacies and distributing dangerous counterfeit and illegal drugs and substances.
However, it is not only Interpol that is concerned about ransomware attacks targeting organizations from all sectors around the world. For example, the administration of US President Joe Biden intends to regard ransomware attacks as a threat to national security. In this regard, American intelligence services will monitor foreign cybercriminals and develop offensive cyber operations against hackers outside the United States, in particular in Russia. Once a nuisance, ransomware attacks from abroad have now become a major source of economic damage, as evidenced by recent disruptions in the supply of gasoline and meat to the United States, officials said.
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