LockBit Actors Busted

The DOJ has arrested three affiliates in the LockBit global ransomware campaign. The most recent was a Russian national, Ruslan Magomedovich Astamirov. He is charged with executing at least five attacks between August 2020 and last March, against computer systems in the United States and abroad. Criminal affiliates use LockBit ransomware, which functions as a ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) model.  The attacks differ in tactics, techniques and procedures, which makes it more difficult for organizations to protect themselves. The most recent known attack in the U.S. took place on May 25th. Risk managers should make sure their company is applying Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency recommended mitigations such as sandboxing browsers, installing Web application firewalls, requiring phishing-resistant multifactor authentication (MFA), and installing up-to-date antivirus software.