Conti ransomware being assisted by Costa Rican partners, president says

Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves has claimed that the Conti ransomware gang has been working with collaborators across Costa Rica in a recent ransomware attack against its government agencies, reports CyberScoop. Conti had launched a ransomware attack on at least 27 Costa Rican government institutions last month, nine of which were severely impacted. "We are at war and that is not an exaggeration. The war is against an international terrorist group," said Chaves, whose statements come after Conti had urged Costa Ricans to begin protests urging the government to pay a $20 million ransom as it continued to threaten the deletion of decryption keys within a week. Emsisoft Threat Analyst Brett Callow the prevalence of insider threats that may have assisted in Conti's attacks. "The gangs now have so much money that they could potentially buy their way into any organization. In fact, Id be surprised if it wasn't quite common for insiders to reach out to them with offers of help," said Callow.