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Costa Rica has declared a national emergency due to an attack on government systems perpetrated by Russian-speaking cyber criminals.
President Rodrigo Chaves – an economist who was only just sworn into office on Sunday – signed an executive decree describing the attack of 18 April as an act of “cyber terrorism”.
The decree means a state of emergency is in effect across the country’s entire public sector, in what is believed to be a world first for a State response to a cyber attack.
The Conti ransomware gang has claimed to be behind the attack. It is seeking to extort millions from the government of Costa Rica by publishing stolen data online as well as rendering IT systems unusable across several ministries.
A post on the president’s Facebook page has confirmed the decree although a spokesperson for Costa Rica’s ministry for foreign affairs was unable to provide a comment to Sky News.
The US State Department cited the attack last Friday when it announced up to $15m in rewards for information about the key leadership of the gang.
It stated: “In offering this reward, the United States demonstrates its commitment to protecting potential ransomware victims around the world from exploitation by cyber criminals.
“We look to partner with nations willing to bring justice for those victims affected by ransomware,” the department added – potentially looking to distinguish itself from China, which has been accused of permitting cyber attacks, and with whom Costa Rica has developed close ties.
The State Department added the ransomware group “has been responsible for hundreds of ransomware incidents over the past two years” and that the FBI estimates it has made more than $150m from victim payouts.
But leaked internal chat logs suggest it could have received far more.
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Source : skynews
