During the COVID-19 pandemic and due to restrictions imposed, more and more businesses switched their activities to the online environment, with their employees working from their homes. While in most business environments, methods of protection are in place to counter cyber threats, personal computers might not have the same level of compliance with Internet security rules, thus leaving their users defenceless against ransomware attacks. Ransomware attacks have been in the last two years hitting hard targeting both personal workstations but also on critical infrastructure, exposing hospitals and medical facilities to the concentrated attacks of cybercriminals. The response of both judicial authorities and the private sector needs to be adequate to meet the challenges posed by this growing form of criminal activity. The workshop aims to provide recommendations on how to protect oneself against this form of cybercrime and provide the required tools to mitigate this threat. Another purpose is to determine how co-operation on ransomware can be further supported on Council of Europe level.
Hein DRIES
CEO Vigilo Consult
Key Expert on OCWAR-C project
LinkedIn@ Hein Dries
James SHANK
Chief Architect of Community Services, Team Cymru
Member of the Ransomware Task Force
LinkedIn@ James Shank
Twitter@ James Shank
Matteo LUCCHETTI
Director of CYBER 4.0
Italian Cybersecurity Competence Center
LinkedIn@ Matteo Lucchetti
Emmanuel KESSLER
Head of Team
Prevention and Outreach
Europol - O3 European Cyber Crime Centre (EC3)
Dominik HELBLE
Head of Cyber Security of Festo
Former cybercrime investigator within the BKA
Nikhil BHAGAT
Federal Prosecutor
USA Department of Justice
LinkedIn@ Nikhil Bhagat
Presentations
- A private sector perspective on ransomware. Threats and evolution over time, Alexandru Catalin Cosoi, Chief Security Strategist, Bitdefender
- No More Ransom, an EU perspective into preventing and countering ransomware, Emmanuel Kessler, Head of Team, Prevention and Outreach, O3 European Cyber Crime Centre (EC3), Europol
- Combating ransomware as a service, public-private partnership, Dominik Helble, Head of Cyber Security of Festo and former cybercrime investigator within the BKA
Resources
- NO MORE RANSOM – Do you need help unlocking your digital life?
- Europol's cybercrime-prevention guides
- Europol: 121 tools against ransomware on a single website
- Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA) 2021
- Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA): Ransomware Awareness for Holidays and Weekends
- Institute for Security and Technology, Combating Ransomware: A Comprehensive Framework for Action: Key Recommendations from the Ransomware Task Force
- The evolution of ransomware extortion tactics
- Tech Monitor: The top ten ransomware gangs
- The State of Ransomware in 2021
- Team Cymru: Analysing Ransomware Negotiations with CONTI
- Bitdefender: The “New Normal” State of Cybersecurity
- Bitdefender: 2020 Consumer Threat Landscape Report
- Ransomware Impact on the Education Sector
- Censinet, Ponemon Research Report: The Impact of Ransomware on Healthcare During COVID-19 and Beyond
- International Law’s Role in Combating Ransomware?
- Interpol: Immediate action required to avoid Ransomware pandemic
- Digital Information World: Over 304 million ransomware threats surfaced in the first half of 2021
- Colonial Pipeline attack: Everything you need to know
- EMOTET takedown
- Ransomware Hackers Hobble Covid-19 Vaccinations in Italy