WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) and Representative Mike Gallagher (R-Wisc.), Co-Chairs of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission (CSC), today expressed concern at the findings of a joint report from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and number of U.S. and foreign intelligence services that shows a growing number of ransomware attacks worldwide. In response to the joint Cybersecurity Advisory, King and Gallagher renewed their call for leaders in the public and private sectors to ensure they’re secured against cyberthreats.

“The rise of cyber connectivity across the world has created immense global opportunities – but it has also created dangerous new vulnerabilities,” said CSC Co-Chairs Senator King and Congressman Gallagher. “The joint Cybersecurity Advisory illustrates these threats and lays bare the serious and growing threat of ransomware attacks. Over the course of the past decade, we have seen ransomware escalate from relatively isolated incidents to a multi-billion dollar global crime wave. The Cybersecurity Solarium Commission has spurred significant action to prevent these attacks, but this seriously concerning report shows that we must redouble our efforts to prevent breaches by bad actors, deter attacks from our adversaries, and protect our critical infrastructure in cyberspace. We encourage every leader in the public and private sector to ensure their organization is secured against ransomware, and that they have significant infrastructure in place to combat cyberthreats. Concerned enterprises can visit StopRansomware.gov to find out about the latest protections and tools.”

The joint Cybersecurity Advisory was issued by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), National Security Agency (NSA), Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC), and the United Kingdom’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC-UK). The report highlighted cybersecurity trends of 2021, and laid out the growing international threat posed by ransomware over the past year. The group outlined several notable trends in their report:

• Cybercriminals are increasingly gaining access to networks via phishing, stolen Remote Desktop Protocols (RDP) credentials or brute force, and exploiting software vulnerabilities.
• The market for ransomware became increasingly “professional” and there has been an increase in cybercriminal services-for-hire.
• More and more, ransomware groups are sharing victim information with each other, including access to victims’ networks.
• Cybercriminals are diversifying their approaches to extorting money.
• Ransomware groups are having an increasing impact thanks to approaches targeting the cloud, managed service providers, industrial processes and the software supply chain.
• Ransomware groups are increasingly targeting organizations on holidays and weekends.

As Co-Chairs of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission (CSC), Senator King and Representative Gallagher are recognized as some of Congress’s leading experts on cyberdefense and are strong advocates for a forward-thinking cyberstrategy that emphasizes layered cyberdeterrence. Since it officially launched in April 2019, dozens of CSC recommendations have been enacted into law, including the creation of a National Cyber Director.