FBI and CISA warn of cyber attacks this Labor Day weekend

FBI and CISA warn of cyber attacks this Labor Day weekend
The FBI and CISA have issued a new warning stating that cybercriminals could launch cyberattacks against organizations on Labor Day, as they did on previous holidays. Although the 2 US government agencies do not have concrete threat intelligence to indicate that cyberattacks are planned for the holiday weekend, and cybercriminals know that organizations are often understaffed on the holidays, what That makes them brittle. For this reason, the FBI and CISA advise that organizations with the right capabilities get involved in precautionary threat hunting on their networks to look for signs of cybercriminals or threat actors. Ransomware remains an issue of particular concern for US companies, and both government agencies have also warned that paying cybercriminals a ransom does not guarantee an organization's data will be returned. Hence, organizations should not give in to an attacker's demands by paying a ransom and should instead contact the relevant authorities. CISA's Deputy Executive Director for Cyber ​​Security, Eric Goldstein, explained how CISA and the FBI are working together to address ransomware in a press release, saying, "Ransomware remains a national security threat and challenging Critical, but not excellent. “With our partners at the FBI, we continue to cooperate daily to ensure we provide timely, useful, and practical advice that assists government and industry partners of all sizes in adopting defensible network strategies and building their ability to restoration. Each and every organization must continue to be alert given this ongoing threat.

Christmas cyber attacks

Cybercriminals see holidays, weekends, and especially regulatory weekends as a good time to target potential victims, including small and large businesses, as IT teams are often limited. In May, as Mother's Day weekend approached, for example, the DarkSide ransomware outfit launched a sweeping attack on the Colonial pipeline that resulted in a week-long suspension of operations. Later that month, over Memorial Day weekend, the ReEvil ransomware suite launched an attack against major meat processor JBS that resulted in a complete shutdown of production. Throughout the current year's Fourth of July holiday weekend, ReEvil ransomware operators attacked and re-attacked IT management company Kaseya, affecting hundreds upon hundreds of organizations, including multiple service providers. administrators and their organizations. Although the CISA and FBI advice is aimed at both large and small businesses, users should also be aware of cyber attacks and should protect themselves through the use of a VPN when connected to a Wi-Fi network. -Fi. Public fi, by installing anti-virus software on their computers, using a password manager to produce and store secure passwords, and by avoiding opening attachments in suspicious emails they receive from unknown senders.