U.S. Department of Homeland Security: More than 500 cryptocurrency ransomware attacks have been thwarted in three years

BlockBeats news, October 7, U.S. Department of Homeland Security investigators said they have thwarted hundreds of ransomware cyberattacks before they occurred and seized billions of extorted cryptocurrencies since 2021.

Mike Prado, deputy assistant director of the Cyber Crime Center of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HIS), said in an October 4 report that U.S. government agencies are the main targets, accounting for 21% of the attacks, more than any commercial sector. The department has prevented 537 ransomware attacks since its establishment in 2021, and tracked and seized $4.3 billion worth of cryptocurrencies on exchanges and hacker devices that were stolen through ransom payments.

HIS is taking a proactive approach to stop ransomware attacks by "keeping a close eye" on cybercrime and the changing strategies used by criminals. The agent analyzes internet traffic for signs of malicious activity and monitors software vulnerabilities that ransomware gangs can exploit to exploit an organization's security. The goal is to detect when an attack is about to occur (in some cases before it happens) and stop it.