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A Game-Changing Setback

The fight against ransomware just got trickier and deadlier. Over the recent past we have witnessed ransomware attacks grabbing more and more headlines. These attacks have been carried out against companies, upscale financial institutions, and as well as national governments. The biggest victim of ransomware’s most recent wave has been the United States. First, the infamous Colonial pipeline attack sent the country into panic; with people questioning whether government is doing enough to protect the very infrastructure of the country. This was followed up by a series of cyberattacks that left America’s several key financial players deeply wounded. The latest entrant on the casualty list is the meat-processing giant, JBS. To counter this terrorizing situation, US government facilitated the creation of some security tools. These tools are mainly designed to help security agencies, but by looking at the reality, it can be said that currently they are only adding to the problems. With some clever maneuver, cybercriminal groups have gained access to these tools, and now security agencies have a tough battle on their hands.

Being able to add a wall of legitimacy to their attacks provides the hackers with a serious advantage. It was already predicted that ransomware cases will see a steep rise in 2021, but no one saw this coming. Having lost all their weapons they were going to use in the fight against cybercrime, the countries now have a big decision to make. Their aggressive stance has put them in a very murky place, so now is it time to go into that damage control mode? It’s hard to say. As we have observed, these threat actor groups are run by people who seem to have a clear idea of what they are doing, so protecting what is a wide expanse of institutions from these shrewd individuals can be a tough nut to crack. However, if there is no retaliation for the recently caused wreak-havoc by these hackers in America, then it might just end up encouraging them to take it up a notch. While the US government mulls over its options, big-scale corporations remain on alert as they look to take every possible measure for avoiding a fate similar to other ransomware victims.