The other virus that can wreak havoc all over the world: Ransomware

On May 7, a hacker note was discovered on a computer in the control room at Colonial Pipeline. The hackers had stolen 100 gigabytes of Colonials data and threatened to make it available to hackers around the world unless they paid a $5 million ransom in bitcoin. Colonial responded by shutting down its core assets, an oil and gas pipeline that travels 8,500 miles from Texas to New Jersey and carries more than 100 million gallons a day. It is the largest pipeline in the US

The effect of the shutdown on gas supplies and prices was immediately noticeable. Prices in Virginia rose from $3 to $7 a gallon, and hundreds of gas stations in North Carolina had no gas to sell. Within a few days, Colonial paid the hackers $4.4 million, later admitted by CEO Joseph Blount.

It could be worse. The hacker group, called DarkSide, believed to be from Russia, has reportedly stolen customer billing information. They didn’t disrupt pumps, valves, and physical structures controlled by sensors, but DarkSide caused billions in economic damage in the southeastern US in a week.

The hacking threat is increasing worldwide, Nicole Perlroth said when I spoke to her at the end of May. Perlroth is the premier cyber reporter for the New York Times, and the author of a deeply researched book with a scary title: This is how they tell me the world ends. Perlroth spent seven years researching and writing her book. She traveled the world, opening doors to a hidden multi-billion dollar industry run by paranoid geniuses who perpetrate data theft and ransomware.

The dilemma of ransomware attacks is asymmetry, explains Perlroth. While shutting down a developed country’s power grid would require the resources of a national military and be judged as an act of war, ransomware requires just a simple theft or credible threat. It can be done by loose connections of hackers around the world. It can be done for money, ransom amounts around the world are quickly inflated, or even by anarchists with no motive other than to poke the powers in the eye.

The hacking threat is increasing worldwide.

These are the industries most vulnerable to ransomware attacks, Perlroth said: banking, electricity, healthcare, military, oil and gas, transportation, and water supply. Her biggest concern? When I started my research, my own fear was the water supply. It is still. Perlroth is right. Earlier this year, a single hacker attempted to increase sodium hydroxide to toxic levels at a water treatment plant in the US. Next time, it might be a state-sponsored terrorist group, with deadlier results.

Perlroth is also concerned about global energy and transportation supply chains: I am concerned about smaller, privately held supply chain companies that are underinvesting in network security because they operate on small margins, or they may not be able to provide the talent they need. find.

The threat is growing and global. Vanson Bourne, a research firm in the United Kingdom, surveyed 5,400 IT executives in 30 countries. More than a third were affected by ransomware attacks. The majority say the attackers have managed to encrypt their data. The average bill for recovering from a ransomware attack, taking into account downtime, human time, device costs, network costs, lost opportunities, and ransom paid, was $1.85 million.

The most attacked country? India. The most attacked countries in ASEAN are Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore. But many countries, including the countries most suspected of sponsoring or protecting hackers, Iran, North Korea and Russia, did not participate in the investigation. The world’s attention has been focused for the past 18 months on a biological virus that has killed millions and caused trillions in economic damage. Covid-19 will disappear, thanks to heroic pharma innovators. Who are the innovators who will stop the ransomware crisis?