“No Gas” signs are posted on the gas pumps of an Arlington, Va., gas station, which had been affected by the Colonial Pipeline cyberattack in May of last year. The FBI said Tuesday that Americans lost nearly $7 billion last year due to criminal Internet activity. File Photo by Jemal Countess/UPI | License Photo
March 23 (UPI) — Americans reported losses surpassing $6.9 billion to Internet crime last year, according to a new report from the FBI.
Released on Tuesday, the annual Internet Crime Report states Americans filed 847,376 complaints concerning a wide array of Internet scams, representing a 7% increase from the year previous.
“In 2021, America experienced an unprecedented increase in cyber attacks and malicious cyber activity,” Paul Abbate, deputy director of the FBI, said in the report. “These cyber attacks compromised businesses in an extensive array of business sectors as well as the American public.”
Among the 2021 complaints received, ransomware, business e-mail compromise schemes and the criminal use of cryptocurrency were among those most reported, it said.
Last year saw the United States experience several high-profile cyberattacks, including those targeting key U.S. supply chains with ransomware, a malicious software designed to hold files on a device hostage by rendering them inaccessible until a ransom is paid.
Colonial Pipeline experienced one of the most consequential attacks in May that ignited gas shortages and panic buying in some communities. The company ended up paying $4.4 million in cryptocurrency to Eastern European criminal organization DarkSide. The federal authorities said they were able to recover the “majority” of the ransom.
The next month, JBS, the world’s largest beef supplier, was hit with an attack that forced it to temporarily shutter its processing facilities in the United States and Australia. It paid $11 million to Russian hackers.
In response to the attacks, U.S. President Joe Biden announced a slew of measures to protect the nation from cybercriminals and even held a July summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the topic as several of the incidents are believed to be been connected to Kremlin-linked groups.
Abbate added in the report that as cyberthreats evolve they are becoming “increasingly intertwined” with traditional intelligence threats.
The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center was established in May 2000 to receive complaints concerning Internet Crime.
In the past five years, it has received 2.76 million complaints representing $18.7 billion in losses, it said.
“No Gas” signs are posted on the gas pumps of an Arlington, Va., gas station, which had been affected by the Colonial Pipeline cyberattack in May of last year. The FBI said Tuesday that Americans lost nearly $7 billion last year due to criminal Internet activity. File Photo by Jemal Countess/UPI | License Photo March 23 (UPI) — Americans reported losses surpassing $6.9 billion to Internet crime last year, according to a new report from the FBI. Released on Tuesday, the annual Internet Crime Report states Americans filed 847,376 complaints concerning a wide array of Internet scams, representing a 7% increase from the year previous. “In 2021, America experienced an unprecedented increase in cyber attacks and malicious cyber activity,” Paul Abbate, deputy director of the FBI, said in the report. “These cyber attacks compromised businesses in an extensive array of business sectors as well as the American public.” Among the 2021 complaints received, ransomware, business e-mail compromise schemes and the criminal use of cryptocurrency were among those most reported, it said. Last year saw the United States experience several high-profile cyberattacks, including those targeting key U.S. supply chains with ransomware, a malicious software designed to hold files on a device hostage by rendering them inaccessible until a ransom is paid. Colonial Pipeline experienced one of the most consequential attacks in May that ignited gas shortages and panic buying in some communities. The company ended up paying $4.4 million in cryptocurrency to Eastern European criminal organization DarkSide. The federal authorities said they were able to recover the “majority” of the ransom. The next month, JBS, the world’s largest beef supplier, was hit with an attack that forced it to temporarily shutter its processing facilities in the United States and Australia. It paid $11 million to Russian hackers. In response to the attacks, U.S. President Joe Biden announced a slew of measures to protect the nation from cybercriminals and even held a July summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the topic as several of the incidents are believed to be been connected to Kremlin-linked groups. Abbate added in the report that as cyberthreats evolve they are becoming “increasingly intertwined” with traditional intelligence threats. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center was established in May 2000 to receive complaints concerning Internet Crime. In the past five years, it has received 2.76 million complaints representing $18.7 billion in losses, it said.