Labor Day ransomware attack warning
Federal agencies are warning of potential ransomware attacks targeted at U.S. organizations ahead of Labor Day weekend in the wake of recent cyberattacks during previous holidays this year.
Agencies behind the alert: The FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on Tuesday issued an alert outlining their concerns, noting that while there was no intelligence around specific threats, other holiday weekends had given cybercriminals opportunities for attacks.
“Cyber actors have conducted increasingly impactful attacks against U.S. entities on or around holiday weekends over the last several months,” the agencies wrote in the alert. “The FBI and CISA do not currently have specific information regarding cyber threats coinciding with upcoming holidays and weekends.”
Previous attacks: The alert was issued in the wake of multiple high-profile ransomware attacks in recent months, including the ransomware attack by Russian-based cybercriminal group DarkSide on Colonial Pipeline just prior to Mother’s Day weekend in May. The attack led to gas shortages in multiple states, disrupting a key supply chain for the East Coast.
Weeks later, meat producer JBS USA was the target of a ransomware attack carried out by Russian-based group REvil during Memorial Day weekend. An attack by the same group was carried out against software company Kaseya during the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
