On July 2nd 2021, the Russian ransomware-as-a-service group known as REvil launched an attack on the American software company Kaseya. The hackers targeted the Virtual Server Administrator (VSA) to distribute ransomware as the VSA is used to send out software updates to every computer on that server. 50 of Kaseya’s clients were affected and since they also sold IT services, more customers were prone to attack. This is known as a supply chain attack. It is reported that about 1500 businesses were hit. REvil is demanding $50 million to unlock their files.
The US government has been trying to put an end to cyber crimes like this for quite some time. It does not look like it has been disruptive but it still is being called the largest ransomware attack in history. The ransomware is so sophisticated that it avoids the systems that has the languages that came from the former USSR regions (Russian, Armenian, Romanian, Ukrainian etc.). It is known that criminal cyber groups are allowed to operate freely in Russia as long as they target The United States and other Western countries.
Joe Biden and his administration is actively trying to rally enough global support and pressure the Russian government to find and arrest cyber criminals like REvil. A month ago, at the Geneva summit with Vladimir Putin, Biden had talked to Putin about ransomware becoming a serious threat and that he will take action if Russia doesn’t stop allowing cyber criminals to operate without any consequences. White House officials are expected to deliberate over this problem and come up with a course of action. Biden will most likely tell Russia to live up to its obligations and prevent Russian land to be used for criminal acts like these. The least that they can do is hand over these criminals so they can stand trial for their actions. Russia has even signed an international agreement where it states that they will not allow criminal activity in their territory. The individuals behind this attack must be arrested and the files must be returned to all the businesses immediately.
Biden even said that if Russia continues to not bat an eye, the US would be forced to respond with an attack of their own. He added that the last thing Putin would want on his hands now is a new Cold War. This is not the first time an attack like this has occured. A Russian cyber group had previously attacked hospitals and food-processing plants. This is why the US has had enough and want swift justice.
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