Costa Rica chaos a warning that ransomware threat remains

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Since then, ransomware gangs have shied away from “big-game” targets in the U.S. in pursuit of victims unlikely to provoke a strong response by the U.S. “They’re still prolific, they’re making enormous amounts of money, but they’re just not in the news everyday,” Eleanor Fairford, a deputy director at the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre, said at a recent U.S. conference on ransomware. Paul Rosenzweig, a former top DHS official and cyber consultant who is now a legal resident of Costa Rica, said the country presents a test case for what exactly the U.S. government owes its friendly and allied governments who fall victim to disruptive ransomware attacks. “Costa Rica is a perfectly good example because it’s the first,” Rosenzweig said. Some cyber threat researchers say Conti may be in the middle of a rebranding, and its attack on Costa Rica may be a publicity stunt to provide a plausible story for the group’s demise.