Today, Tuesday, provincial police said that a Canadian, from Ontario, has been arrested and charged with carrying out several ransomware attacks in Canada and the United States, after an international investigation that lasted nearly two years.
The investigation concluded that “someone was responsible for numerous ransomware attacks affecting businesses, government agencies, and individuals in Canada as well as cybercrime in the United States,” according to a statement.
The 31-year-old was arrested after a 23-month investigation, which was carried out with the help of the Royal National Mounted Police (RCMP, Federal Police) and the US Federal Police (FBI).
The FBI contacted the Ontario Provincial Police in January 2020 about ransomware attacks committed from Canada.
The Canadian, originally from Ottawa, was charged with “fraud”, “possession of a device that permits unauthorized use of a computer or the commission of harm” and “unauthorized use of a computer”.
With him in custody, he must appear again before the Ontario Court of Justice on an unspecified date.
Since 2019, Ontario Police have observed a 140% increase in the number of reports of these types of crimes.
And in the first half of 2021, ransomware attacks are up 151% globally compared to the same period in 2020, according to figures from the Canadian Center for Cyber Security released Monday.
The latter identified 235 ransomware-related incidents in Canada in 2021, and “more than half of them were critical infrastructure service providers.”
Last week, the office of Canada’s Governor General, Mary Simon, Queen Elizabeth II’s representative in the country, reported that her computers had been hacked and that an investigation was open.
The majority of these attacks, which can lead to “serious financial repercussions,” go unreported, however, states the Canadian Cybersecurity Authority.
The amount reported in the first half of the year by financial institutions operating in the United States was $590 million (523 million euros).
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