Security News > 2021 > November > US govt warns of increased ransomware risks during holidays
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the FBI warned critical infrastructure partners and public/private sector organizations not to let down their defenses against ransomware attacks during the holiday season.
The two federal agencies' warning was issued in the form of a joint advisory published Monday, "Based on observations on the timing of high impact ransomware attacks that have occurred previously rather than a reaction to specific threat reporting."
As previously observed, threat actors have often taken advantage of a decrease in readiness to respond to cybersecurity attacks during weekends and holidays to attempt breaches of critical networks and systems belonging to public and private sector orgs.
The two agencies also provide a list of mitigations, including the need to set up an IT security team ready to react to ransomware attacks even outside regular office hours.
Today's warning follows a very similar one issued at the end of August, ahead of the Labor Day weekend, after noticing that highly impactful ransomware attacks commonly hit US organizations when offices are typically closed.
"CISA offers a range of no-cost cyber hygiene services-including vulnerability scanning and ransomware readiness assessments-to help critical infrastructure organizations assess, identify, and reduce their exposure to cyber threats," the agencies added at the time.
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