US military's hacking unit publicly acknowledges taking offensive action to disrupt ransomware

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

operations

Cyber Command, the US military's hacking unit, has taken offensive action to disrupt cybercriminal groups that have launched ransomware attacks on US companies, a spokesperson for the command confirmed to CNN Sunday.

The spokesperson declined to specify what actions the command had taken. But it's one of the first, unequivocal acknowledgements from Cyber Command since the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack in May that the command has targeted criminal gangs that hold the computer systems of US businesses hostage.

New comments by Gen. Paul Nakasone, head of Cyber Command and director of the National Security Agency, which the New York Times reported earlier Sunday, signal that the US military's computer operatives have been increasingly willing to hack criminals, and not just state actors, who pose a threat to US critical infrastructure.

Security agencies across the US government have ramped up their pursuit of ransomware groups after hacks brought Colonial Pipeline, a major transporter of US fuel, and a major meat processor to a standstill earlier this year. CNN reported in June that the US government had taken offensive steps in response to ransomware, including compromising and surveilling cybercriminal networks, according to sources familiar with the situation.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/us-military-s-hacking-unit-publicly-acknowledges-taking-offensive-action-to-disrupt-ransomware-operations/ar-AARuTBd

[The Magistrate]

1. Good

These groups are the modern equivalent of pirates in the days of sail, right down to often enjoying a state's blind eye provided they focus on its opponents. All men's hands ought to be against them, and they are proper subjects for military action.

[Hekate]

2. I agree, Sir

I hope you continue well.

[captain queeg]

3. About time. I hope they put their best and brightest on it

Will provide real world experience for them and they should prosecute a much as possible. Maybe even lead to some new rules and authorities.

[DFW]

4. As far as I'm concerned

If they want to send in commando units and treat them like armed adversaries, it's fine with me.

My outfit was the target of one such attempt in the last 5 years. They wanted $5 million from us. We backed up everything daily, so we only had to reconstruct one day's worth of work (took us four days), plus build a whole new wall of defense, but that didn't even cost us 1% of the ransom they demanded to restore our systems.

Whether working for a hostile government, or just a sophisticated version of street thugs, I have no compassion for anyone involved. Sitting back in some easy chair, in front of a screen, trying, out of pure greed, to extort money from people who worked their whole lives to build something up, whether a government service or something from the private sector--that is human trash, and it belongs in a trash dump.