The Department of Justice has formed a new task force aimed at tacklingthe growing threat of ransomware in the US, according to a Wednesdayreportfrom The Wall Street Journal. The multiagency effort involves a collaboration with private sector and international partners in a bid to undermine the ransomware distribution chain, the Journal said.
Citing an internal memorandum issued this week, the Journal reports that Acting Deputy Attorney General John Carlin is looking to use a multipronged approach to undermine ransomware extortion schemes. Prosecutions are part of the plan, as is a DOJ effort to bring down the digital shops that support the attacks: the hosting services behind ransomware campaigns, and the online forums where hackers can find ransomware for sale.
Read more:States brace for ransomware assaults on voter registries
"By any measure,2020 was the worst year ever when it comes to ransomwareand related extortion events," Carlin, who's overseeing the task force, told the Journal. "And if we don't break the back of this cycle, a problem that's already bad is going to get worse."
The DOJ's criminal, national security and civil divisions will reportedly be represented on the task force, along with the FBI and the Executive Office of US Attorneys. The Journal reports that the task force will also work toward collaboration with the Treasury and Homeland Security departments.
Read more:Ransomware froze more cities in 2019. Next year is a toss-up