Sunday, May 8, 2022, the Costa Rica Welcomed its new president, Rodrigo Chavez. The next day, officials of the newly elected politician announced a number of orders, which, while still awaiting official publication, promised to impose a state of emergency in the country. Such a brutal solution would have been popular to counteract this Repeated ransomware attacks Experienced local IT systems.

The conditions were expected during a press conference called by the President with Cabinet Chief Natalia Diaz and Technological Innovation Minister Carlos Alvarado. The decree of the group that used it, in particular, should be formalized today with the declared purpose of preventing cyber criminal activities within a short period of time. Conti ransomware Conducted by the Russian team Wizard Spider. Last month, a cyber attack claimed to have led to the online publication of 672 GB of content attributed to Costa Rican government agencies, prompting several public institutions to disconnect from the Internet to ensure that the situation does not worsen.

# Developing President OdRodrigoChavesR A national emergency has been declared following a cyber attack on the computer systems of various institutions in the country pic.twitter.com/ttFmh3DZUe

– Amelia Rueda (ameliarueda) May 8, 2022

What had to be experienced violently were the consequences of the situation Ministry of Finance. The newspaper Amelia Ruda reports that the digital services of the Treasury Department are now Offline from April 18th, A scandal that permanently slows down all bureaucratic procedures and destroys the manufacturing sector. The State Body did not disclose the extent and content of the data theft, although we know that the cybercriminals “estimated” that the stolen goods would be worth $ 10 million in ransom, which they would have rejected.

In addition to the Ministry of Finance, ransomware has also been found to have reached the Ministry of Labor and Social Security (MTSS), the Fund for Development and Family Support (FODESAF), and the Alajuwela Inter-University Headquarters (SIUA). However, it seems to have touched other agencies, including the Ministry of Technology.

Conti is a ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) that has already been used to target Irish health service systems and attempts to infiltrate US hospital servers. The White House Wizard includes the Spider Group $ 15 million prize: 10 million for each piece of information useful to identify the subjects involved, and 5 million for suspicious information leading to the arrest of criminals.

Opponents of the president fear that despite the digital assumptions, this strategy is a useful tactic to suppress the democratic process in favor of centralization of power. However he acknowledged that their numbers were not enough to defeat Rodrigo Chavez’s government, and that he had been forced to resign by the World Bank.

[di Walter Ferri]