Ransomware — a novelty just a few years ago — is now endemic, like COVID. We’ll have to learn to live with the malicious file-encrypting code, even as we struggle to limit it.

Why it matters: Ransomware attacks, which take an organization’s data hostage and shut down its systems until the hackers receive payment, have exacted an escalating price on law enforcement, policymaking and financial resources around the world.

It remains the top threat on the minds of cyber defenders at this week’s RSA Conference in San Francisco, the cybersecurity industry’s highest-profile annual gathering.
What’s happening: Rob Joyce, the NSA’s director of cybersecurity, told reporters during a briefing at RSA that Russian hackers are now weaponizing ransomware in attempted attacks against Ukrainian logistics supply chain companies, as well as organizations in Western-allied countries.