Security News > 2021 > August > Australian govt warns of escalating LockBit ransomware attacks
The Australian Cyber Security Centre warns of an increase of LockBit 2.0 ransomware attacks against Australian organizations starting July 2021.
"ACSC has observed an increase in reporting of LockBit 2.0 ransomware incidents in Australia," Australia's cybersecurity agency said in a security alert issued on Thursday.
According to the agency, LockBit victims also report threats of having data stolen during the attacks leaked online, a known and popular tactic among ransomware gangs to coerce their targets into paying the ransoms.
"The ACSC has observed LockBit affiliates successfully deploying ransomware on corporate systems in a variety of sectors including professional services, construction, manufacturing, retail and food."
The LockBit ransomware gang started operating in September 2019 as a ransomware-as-a-service, recruiting threat actors to breach networks and encrypt devices.
LockBit announced the LockBit 2.0 RaaS in June 2021 on their data leak site after ransomware topics were banned on cybercrime forums [1, 2]. While the alert issued by the Australian cybersecurity agency would imply that LockBit has hit never before seen levels of activity, the ransomware gang is just ramping up their engines again following a slowdown in attacks since January 2021, as shown by the number of ID Ransomware submissions.
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