DHS Secretary Singles Out Ransomware As Cybercrime Priority

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas will make stopping ransomware attacks a priority in the new administration, Reuters reported. His focus on that subject shows the increasing need to meet the threat of data-scrambling software.

Ransomware constitutes holding files and networks hostage under the condition of a payment made, according to Reuters. This has become a high-profile type of crime in the U.S. as the perpetrators of the crimes gain more resources. Many of the operators of ransomware work in jurisdictions with less stringent attitudes about cybercrime.

Mayorkas said he plans to take on governments that don’t use the full extent of their authority to stop the crimes in question. He called ransomware “a particularly egregious type of malicious cyber activity,” Reuters reported.

Mayorkas said he plans to take on both those that launch ransomware operations as well as the “marketplaces that enable them.” Reuters noted that a DHS official said the reference to marketplaces was intended to mean the underground online forums allowing criminals to franchise out their campaigns.

Mayorkas’ agenda in general is “ambitious” for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the DHS’ cyber arm, with the agency now looking to “quarterback” the U.S. government’s digital defenses, according to Reuters. Mayorkas also said he wants the agency to be a “trusted interlocutor” between business officials and public servants.

The pandemic has seen surges in cybercrime of all types, ransomware included. In October, the Department of the Treasury issued a pair of warnings about the trend, saying that the attacks were targeting healthcare organizations more, along with municipalities, citing the weaker protections there such as inefficient system backups and incident response capabilities.

Ransomware was already on the rise prior to that, with attacks increasing 37 percent in 2019, and losses from those attacks increasing 46 percent.