Tech

The US is sending money to countries ravaged by cyber attacks


Last spring, Costa Rican government suffered a series of ransomware attacks that damaged critical systems across the country. As imports and exports, healthcare and other public services were disrupted, Costa Rica’s president, Rodrigo Chaves Robles, declared a state of emergency and the recovery process was a lengthy ordeal. many months. Nearly a year after the crisis began, a senior White House official told reporters today that the United States plans to provide $25 million in cybersecurity assistance to help Costa Rica strengthen its digital infrastructure.

This funding will include funding to establish a security operations center within the Costa Rican Ministry of Science, Innovation, Technology and Communications. This will expand the country’s ability to systematically improve critical infrastructure defenses, detect intrusions, and coordinate incident response across government. The grant will also include training in cybersecurity as well as security equipment, including hardware and software licenses.

The senior Biden administration official, who spoke to reporters on condition they did not name me, was in Costa Rica to meet with Chaves about the aid, which will come from the US State Department. Costa Rica will co-host the State Department’s 2023 Summit on Democracy this week.

The official also told reporters that in February, the US government provided a similar $25 million grant to Albania after the financial crisis. sabotage attack on that country’s government last summer was attributed to Iranian hackers.

“At that time [of the ransomware attacks]we immediately deployed a team of US experts to assist with Costa Rica’s recovery and have worked closely with the country ever since—and have realized that this further stability, the This extra support is needed,” the US official told reporters.

The official said that the Biden administration selected recipients of the cybersecurity grant “based on the magnitude of the attacks that occurred.” Iran’s cyberattack on Albania is notable for targeting a NATO member. Meanwhile, Chaves and other members of the Costa Rican government have suggested that their cyber attacks, carried out by notorious Russian-based cybercrime gangs, could be to in response to Costa Rica’s outspoken support for Ukraine.

Attacks on Costa Rica led by prolific cybercriminal gang, now disbanded Conti and its affiliates. The group demanded a $20 million ransom and uploaded hundreds of gigabytes of data stolen in the attacks to its dark web. And the group was clear about its destructive intentions. “We are determined to overthrow the government with a cyber attack,” it wrote in a post addressed to Costa Rica and “US terrorists (Biden and his administration).” At the time of the attacks, the U.S. Department of State suggested $15 million total reward for information about Conti leading to an arrest.

In recent years, as digital threats escalate, the United States has focused on launching initiatives to bring the global community together against ransomware and other cybercriminals.

“In the current context, we recognize that it is very important to provide security support to our allies and partners,” the senior official said today, citing cooperation with other allies. European allies, Russian cyberattacks and “broader competition with China” were the common geopolitical backdrop for the meeting. move.

news7g

News7g: Update the world's latest breaking news online of the day, breaking news, politics, society today, international mainstream news .Updated news 24/7: Entertainment, Sports...at the World everyday world. Hot news, images, video clips that are updated quickly and reliably

Related Articles

Back to top button