The
Cybersecurity
and
Infrastructure
Security
Agency,
an
arm
of
the
Department
of
Homeland
Security,
is
rolling
out
a
program
that
warns
organizations
about
potential
ransomware
attacks,
CyberScoop
reports.
The
program
is
currently
running
as
a
pilot
and
will
be
fully
operational
by
the
end
of
2024.
About
7,000
organizations
have
signed
up
for
the
pilot.
So
far,
CISA
has
issued
2,049
warnings
since
the
pilot
was
launched
in
January
2023.
“The
warning
pilot
is
focused
on
reducing
the
prevalence
of
ransomware
by
using
our
vulnerability
scanning
tools
to
let
businesses
know
if
they
have
vulnerabilities
that
need
to
be
patched,”
CISA
Director
Jen
Easterly
told
CyberScoop.
To
get
alerts,
organizations
need
to
sign
up
for
CISA’s
cyber
hygiene
scanning
tool.
According
to
CISA’s
FAQ
page
for
the
program,
the
tool
“[e]valuates
external
network
presence
by
executing
continuous
scans
of
public,
static
IPv4s
for
accessible
services
and
vulnerabilities.
This
service
provides
weekly
vulnerability
reports
and
ad-hoc
alerts.”
Easterly
added
that
CISA
will
also
occasionally
use
its
administrative
subpoena
power
to
identify
the
points
of
contact
for
organizations
that
haven’t
signed
up
for
its
services
and
alert
them
about
vulnerabilities
it’s
found
on
their
internet-facing
devices.
Ransomware
attacks
are
on
the
rise.
The
number
of
victims
reported
by
ransomware
leak
sites
increased
by
49
percent
from
2022
to
2023,
according
to
an
analysis
earlier
this
year
by
one
threat
intelligence
firm.
Nearly
half
of
those
victims
were
in
the
US,
the
analysis
found.
The
most
affected
industries
were
manufacturing,
professional
and
legal
services,
and
high
tech.
The
report
also
identified
25
sites
that
offered
ransomware
as
a
service,
though
at
least
five
of
those
appear
to
have
shut
down.
Original author: Gaby Del Valle
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