Ransomware attacks are so frequent that they seem like old news. There is a new interest in ransomware attacks following the attack against Colonial Pipeline. The Colonial Pipeline attack crippled the gas transporter for five days and could affect gas availability and prices for at least the next two weeks.

The FBI has blamed the incident on DarkSide. Although DarkSide publicly states that it is only interested in money and not in disruption, it certainly has contradicted its public statements. The FBI, in a private advisory, said that it has been following DarkSide since October 2020.  According to reports about the advisory, the FBI stated “Darkside has impacted numerous organizations across various sectors, including manufacturing, legal, insurance, health care, and energy.” In addition, it is reported that DarkSide leases its hacking tools as ransomware as a service, splitting proceeds with other attackers as a financial incentive.

Ransomware continues to be a very significant threat to all industries, and particularly to health, energy, and insurance. Preparing for a ransomware attack, and conducting tabletop exercise and incident response preparedness drills are key to identifying vulnerabilities and risk.