U.S. says many ransomware attacks in late 2021 were connected to Russian actors

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Russia-related ransomware variants accounted for 75% of ransomware-related incidents reported to the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) in the second half of 2021, the Treasury Department said in an analysis on Wednesday.

FinCEN said it had received 1,489 ransomware-related filings worth nearly $1.2 billion in 2021, a 188% jump from the year before. The analysis was issued in response to the increase in number and severity of ransomware attacks against U.S. critical infrastructure since late 2020.

(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Andrea Shalal, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)