Since its inception in 2021, the US Department of Homeland Security's Cyber Crime Investigation Center (HSI) has been actively countering ransomware attacks, preventing attacks before they occur and seizing stolen funds.

Effective Fight Against Attacks

The HSI group has successfully prevented 537 ransomware attacks and seized $4.3 billion worth of cryptocurrency stolen through extortion payments. The division actively monitors signs of malicious activity and identifies software vulnerabilities that cybercriminals could exploit.

Rise of Ransomware Attacks

According to Chainalysis research, ransomware inflows increased by 2% in 2024, reaching $459.8 million. The maximum payment size increased by 96% from 2023 and 335% from 2022, indicating an escalating threat from scammers.

Significance and Complexity of the Approach

HSI faces challenges in building cases against hackers whose attacks were thwarted. However, this approach helps reduce threats and allows potential victims, including government agencies and companies, to be warned about potential incidents.

HSI's actions demonstrate the importance of a proactive strategy in combating cyber threats, reducing successful attacks, and recovering stolen funds.