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U.S. to give ransomware hacks similar priority as terrorism, official says

reuters.com

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Re: U.S. to give ransomware hacks similar priority as terrorism, official says

#261

Post by exhilaration »

f38zf5vdt wrote: post #55
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #4

Curious if this will result in extraterritorial enforcement. For example, it's clear Moscow is either unwilling or unable to prosecute cyber criminals within its border.

I'm sure the Russians are as interested in these crooks as the Americans, as it would be attractive to seize their assets. They will not extradite them, but they might wish they had been.

Why would they shut them down when they can just recruit them? Think of these ransomware groups as the minor leagues, the best get to move up to Russia's cyberwarfare teams.

Re: U.S. to give ransomware hacks similar priority as terrorism, official says

#262

Post by Kalium »

chrisco255 wrote: post #253
2OEH8eoCRo0 wrote: post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The HN crowd can sometimes have an issue with pragmatism. Sure, I'd love to live in a world where everyone follows best security practices 100% of the time, but this ain't it. Arguing how your imaginary perfect world should be gets us nowhere.

How much of these hacks would be prevented by adoption of simple preventions like Yubikeys for login, backing up data and images regularly, and encrypting data by default?

Sometimes simple preventative measures aren't as simple as they might sound. How would you go about integrating yubikeys for login into multi-decade-old SCADA hardware systems?

I'm a security specialist and I honestly wouldn't know where to begin.

Re: U.S. to give ransomware hacks similar priority as terrorism, official says

#263

Post by ineedasername »

AnimalMuppet wrote: post #81
chickenpotpie wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ransomware is actually a legitimate threat to the well-being and health of all people. They lock down government and health records. It a huge risk to the American people

Sure. But laws for dealing with legitimate threats sometimes get co-opted to also deal with extraneous matters.

That doesn't mean you avoid making laws for the legitimate threats, it means you also keep tabs on how they're used. A system of laws, and a system of oversight for the use of those laws.

Re: U.S. to give ransomware hacks similar priority as terrorism, official says

#264

Post by 3GuardLineups »

kingTug wrote: post #70
WrtCdEvrydy wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right, but in 2021, I'm sure you can find LSD at an inflated price due to government action.

LSD was and still is one of the cheapest black market drugs you’ll find. There is no shortage. Imo it’s easier to get and test for safety than ever before.

can confirm. You can get verifiably pure and potent LSD for well under $5 a tab online

Re: U.S. to give ransomware hacks similar priority as terrorism, official says

#265

Post by chrisco255 »

Kalium wrote: post #262
chrisco255 wrote: post #253

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How much of these hacks would be prevented by adoption of simple preventions like Yubikeys for login, backing up data and images regularly, and encrypting data by default?

Sometimes simple preventative measures aren't as simple as they might sound. How would you go about integrating yubikeys for login into multi-decade-old SCADA hardware systems? I'm a security specialist and I honestly wouldn't know where to begin.

Is that the case with all of these hacks? How many would be prevented, is what I'm wondering? My mother's hospital was hacked this week and now they can't even clock in but they're not running SCADA

Re: U.S. to give ransomware hacks similar priority as terrorism, official says

#267

Post by nosmokewhereiam »

hfjfirkrkrj wrote: post #82

I remember reading many years ago that US gov said it reserves the right to physically go after cyber attackers, ie: kill the hackers behind the hack. What's the current official policy, is this still on the table (probably only for massive attacks)?

"Bombs for bits"

Re: U.S. to give ransomware hacks similar priority as terrorism, official says

#268

Post by lr4444lr »

blast wrote: post #188

I'm surprised at how dismissive the comments are. We need many angles of defense against these criminals. Dismissing this because companies should do better security is like dismissing doctors because people should get more exercise. That's silly. We need preventative care and treatment. I'm not surprised by this announcement because the way that the pipeline-company ransomware hackers beat a hasty retreat was notice…

I think this is an unfair false choice. I blame security "experts" who store private keys on public facing web servers or allow for SQL injection in the same way as I blame doctors who over-prescribed Oxycontin for way longer than was safe to avoid dependence. Sure, there will always be procedural mistakes and zero days, but gross dereliction of even basic level expertise deserves scorn.

Re: U.S. to give ransomware hacks similar priority as terrorism, official says

#269

Post by kortilla »

coliveira wrote: post #136

So let's look at the chain of events: companies start to become monopolies, make billions of dollars that way. They become "too big too fail", important "infrastructure" for the US. Then, start to expose their user's data on public networks, and don't follow proper security procedures. Now, the public has to pay for the government to secure the magacorp networks! It's a non-stop scam, where they fail their (already s…

Which company are you talking about?

Re: U.S. to give ransomware hacks similar priority as terrorism, official says

#270

Post by cyanydeez »

blast wrote: post #188

I'm surprised at how dismissive the comments are. We need many angles of defense against these criminals. Dismissing this because companies should do better security is like dismissing doctors because people should get more exercise. That's silly. We need preventative care and treatment. I'm not surprised by this announcement because the way that the pipeline-company ransomware hackers beat a hasty retreat was notice…

the zeitgeist the past 10 to 20 years heavily biases people to think government cant work and if it can, its too expensive, and if it does, it infringes someones right to profit at others expense.
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