Archive

Ransomware

Testimony: Online Scams, Crypto Fraud & Digital Extortion: How Transnational Criminal Networks Target Americans

Testimony: Online Scams, Crypto Fraud & Digital Extortion: How Transnational Criminal Networks Target Americans

On Tuesday, April 21, IST Chief Strategy Officer Megan Stifel joined the House Committee on Homeland Security for a hearing on online scams, fraud, and digital extortion to examine how transnational criminal networks are targeting Americans.

congress, cybersecurity, extortion, fraud, Ransomware

April 21, 2026

Counter Ransomware Initiative Tabletop Exercise: After-Action Report

Counter Ransomware Initiative Tabletop Exercise: After-Action Report

IST, in partnership with the Australian Department of Home Affairs and the Counter Ransomware Initiative’s Private Sector Advisory Panel—led by Public Safety Canada and BlackBerry—held a multinational ransomware tabletop exercise on the margins of Singapore International Cyber Week and the Fifth CRI Summit. A new after action report summarizes the discussion and presents 3 key takeaways.

coordination, counter ransomware initiative, cyber, cybersecurity, disruption, information sharing, operational collaboration, Ransomware, Singapore, tabletop exercise

March 31, 2026

Announcing the Launch of the México Ransomware Task Force

Announcing the Launch of the México Ransomware Task Force

IST, in collaboration with a coalition of local and global partners, is excited to announce the launch of the México Ransomware Task Force to tackle the growing threat that ransomware poses to Mexican critical infrastructure and the country’s digital economy, made possible through the support of Mastercard, Microsoft, and Sophos.

critical infrastructure, cybersecurity, digital economy, Mexico, Ransomware, Ransomware Task Force

March 31, 2026

Active Defense, the Congressional Agenda, Teen Hackers, and Critical Infrastructure Resilience: IST at RSA

Active Defense, the Congressional Agenda, Teen Hackers, and Critical Infrastructure Resilience: IST at RSA

IST will once again join the global community of cyber experts in convening in San Francisco for RSAC this March! From active defense, to the congressional agenda, to stopping teen hackers, the IST team and adjuncts will tackle complex issues across sectors.

AI, artificial inteligence, critical infrastructure, cyber, cyber attacks, Cyber Civil Defense, cybersecurity, Ransomware, resilience, RSA

January 28, 2026

IST Contributes to the International Counter Ransomware Initiative Summit for the Fourth Consecutive Year: Exercises, Workshops, and Private Sector Advisory Panel

IST Contributes to the International Counter Ransomware Initiative Summit for the Fourth Consecutive Year: Exercises, Workshops, and Private Sector Advisory Panel

Over the last four years, IST has been a critical partner to the International Counter Ransomware Initiative's coalition of governments and other key partners in their effort to coordinate global actions against ransomware. This October, IST’s Steve Kelly, Elizabeth Vish, and Gigi Flores Bustamante joined the CRI’s fifth summit in Singapore to deliver IST’s research on public-private partnerships to combat cybercrime.

counter ransomware initiative, critical infrastructure, cybersecurity, international collaboration, Public-private partnerships, Ransomware, Singapore, TTX

December 10, 2025

Giving Tuesday 2025: IST’s Impact

Giving Tuesday 2025: IST’s Impact

Every day, the work we do at IST makes a difference, from driving Congress to consider new approaches to intractable problems, to bringing national security leaders together to ensure they consider the existential threat of AI, to arming K-12 schools with the tools they need to defend against ransomware. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, this is only possible because of the generous support of our partners and donors.

AI, artificial intelligence, critical infrastructure, cybersecurity, Giving Tuesday, national security, Ransomware

December 2, 2025

Cybersecurity Awareness Month at IST: Spotlighting our cyber efforts across borders, at the intersection of AI, and throughout sectors

Cybersecurity Awareness Month at IST: Spotlighting our cyber efforts across borders, at the intersection of AI, and throughout sectors

As technologies evolve across the world, so do cyber threats. For Cybersecurity Awareness Month, the Institute for Security and Technology shares practical resources, novel research, and critical insights from IST’s cadre of experts to help individuals, organizations, and communities strengthen their cybersecurity practices.

artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, K-12 Cyber Defense Coalition, Ransomware, Ransomware Task Force, UnDisruptable27

November 17, 2025

Governance and Cyber Risk for SMEs: Remapping the Blueprint for Ransomware Defense

Governance and Cyber Risk for SMEs: Remapping the Blueprint for Ransomware Defense

In 2022, the Ransomware Task Force developed the Blueprint for Ransomware Defense to provide SMEs with an actionable framework to defend against the most common attacks, aligning with NIST’s Cybersecurity Framework 1.0. Today, IST releases the Blueprint remapped to the NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0, incorporating a new core function and updating key considerations for the most vulnerable SMEs.

blueprint, cybersecurity, defense, governance, Ransomware, SMEs, Take9

November 6, 2025

Q&A: On Disrupting the Ransomware Ecosystem

Q&A: On Disrupting the Ransomware Ecosystem

What is a tabletop exercise, or TTX? How can TTXs be deployed in the ransomware context? In the latest edition of The TechnologIST, IST's Sophia Mauro sits down with Director for Digital Security Taylor Grossman to learn more about a recent TTX and IST's efforts to support disruption of the ransomware ecosystem.

blockchain, cryptocurrency, cyber, cybersecurity, disruption, Ransomware, TTX

October 21, 2025

Building Cyber Resilience: International Counter Ransomware Initiative Endorses Blueprint for Ransomware Defense

Building Cyber Resilience: International Counter Ransomware Initiative Endorses Blueprint for Ransomware Defense

As the world’s largest international cyber partnership, the International Counter Ransomware Initiative (CRI) brings together over 74 member states and organizations to build international resilience to the global problem of ransomware. Ahead of its fifth gathering, IST is pleased to announce the CRI’s has endorsed the Ransomware Task Force’s Blueprint for Ransomware Defense.

announcement, Blueprint for Ransomware Defense, counter ransomware initiative, Ransomware, RTF

October 21, 2025

What Cyber Policy Needs Next: Through the Looking Glass of the Ransomware Task Force – Megan Stifel at CyberNextDC

What Cyber Policy Needs Next: Through the Looking Glass of the Ransomware Task Force – Megan Stifel at CyberNextDC

Megan Stifel delivered keynote remarks at CyberNextDC on October 8, 2025 to view cyber policy 'through the looking glass.' "I think the White House, and Director Cairncross in particular, have a unique opportunity in their forthcoming strategy to let the good flourish, push the bureaucracy to overcome the bad, and lead the country to tackle the ugly," she said.

critical infrastructure, cyber, international collaboration, national security, policy, Ransomware, Salt Typhoon, secure-by-design

October 8, 2025

Nick Leiserson and Michael Klein: Urgent Changes Needed to Update the E-Rate Program

In the News, Op-ed

Nick Leiserson and Michael Klein: Urgent Changes Needed to Update the E-Rate Program

For Broadband Breakfast, IST Senior VP for Policy Nicholas Leiserson and Senior Director for Preparedness and Response Michael Klein make the case for expanding the FCC’s E-Rate program to bolster the cybersecurity resilience of K-12 schools.

cybersecurity, E-Rate, K-12 Education, Ransomware, Universal Service Fund

October 1, 2025

Law Enforcement Strikes BlackSuit (Royal) Ransomware, Seizing Funds and Infrastructure

Law Enforcement Strikes BlackSuit (Royal) Ransomware, Seizing Funds and Infrastructure

This summer, U.S. and international law enforcement agencies carried out a coordinated operation against the BlackSuit (formerly Royal) ransomware group, confiscating over $1M in illicit cryptocurrency. IST Senior Associate for the Future of Digital Security Gigi Flores Bustamante unpacks the takedown.

cybercrime, cybersecurity, Ransomware, Ransomware Task Force

August 28, 2025

Institute for Security and Technology Announces Renewed Support from Craig Newmark Philanthropies to Advance the Future of Digital Security

Institute for Security and Technology Announces Renewed Support from Craig Newmark Philanthropies to Advance the Future of Digital Security

The Institute for Security and Technology (IST) is excited to announce renewed support from Craig Newmark Philanthropies for our efforts to carry out a multi-pronged approach to protect, empower, and improve overall digital security preparedness and resilience, especially that of state and local governments and small- and medium-sized businesses.

counter ransomware initiative, critical infrastructure, cybersecurity, Future of Digital Security, prepare, Ransomware, respond, SLTT

July 23, 2025

Exercise VEIL STORM I: After Action Report

Exercise VEIL STORM I: After Action Report

In partnership with Europol, the Institute for Security and Technology and the Ransomware Task Force’s International Engagement Working Group designed and delivered Exercise VEIL STORM I, a tabletop exercise focused on operational collaboration across international law enforcement agencies and private sector firms in responding to cyber incidents. This after-action report summarizes the proceedings and key takeaways of the exercise.

cyber insurance, cybersecurity, disruption, Europol, information sharing, operational collaboration, public-private collaboration, Public-private partnerships, Ransomware

July 23, 2025

Plan directeur de défense contre les rançongiciels

Plan directeur de défense contre les rançongiciels

En réponse à la mesure 3.1.1 du rapport du Groupe de travail sur la lutte contre les rançongiciels, qui recommande à la communauté de la cybersécurité d’« élaborer un cadre clair de mesures exécutables d’atténuation, d’intervention et de récupération relatives aux rançongiciels », le Groupe de travail sur le Plan directeur de défense contre les rançongiciels a intégré au présent document un sous-ensemble structuré de mesures de protection essentielles en matière de cyberhygiène3, puisées dans le site Web Contrôles de sécurité essentiels du contrôles du CIS® v8.

blueprint, cybersecurity, defend, protect, Ransomware, respond

July 14, 2025