[GCARC] ARRL Ransomware Attack Bulletin (background info)

Thu Aug 22 20:21:52 EDT 2024

 Agreed. how can they not be caught in this day and age?
    On Thursday, August 22, 2024 at 07:16:01 PM EDT, Tony Starr <tstarr1450 at gmail.com> wrote:   

 I am astonished that they would even consider paying such a ransome,
especially if "their ransom demands were dramatically weakened by the fact
that they did not have access to any compromising data." Something does not
make sense about that. That the league was even targeted in the first place
makes no sense. It's not like they are a high value target. But I guess
they are, if they paid the damn thing.  One thing is for sure, if I was in
charge I would have paid them not one thin dime, on principle alone. In
fact, even if they did have "compromising data", I would have still given
them a hearty GFYS message, just because they deserved no more.  But I
guess that's why I am not a CEO. OPM I guess. 73 for now.

de K3TS

On Thu, Aug 22, 2024 at 1:26 PM Agustin Neron Properties LLC via GCARC <
gcarc at mailman.qth.net> wrote:

> Thanks Dennis,
> Luckily the paid $1 million ransom was covered by insurance!
> But imagine....paying that out to these criminals!
>
> 4 years ago I got hit with a ransomware attack. Still don't know how it
> got me, perhaps a website I accidentally clicked on planted the ransomware
> (even though I have 2 well-known programs to prevent that).
> Anyway, I didn't pay it, since I had a recent backup.
> I did destroy the infected hard drive and took the opportunity to upgrade
> to a new SSD drive at the time.
> Still going strong!
>
> 73 Darrell AB2E
>
> > On 08/22/2024 1:16 PM EDT ddole1 at aol.com <ddole1 at aol.com> wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> > Darrel,
> >
> > Thanks for sharing. It's an amazing story. it's also probabaly more than
> about time the league had an IT Committee reporting to the Board.
> >
> > Dennis
> > K2SE
> >
> > On Wednesday, August 21, 2024 at 06:10:15 PM EDT, Agustin Neron
> Properties LLC via GCARC <gcarc at mailman.qth.net> wrote:
> >
> >
> > Hi all,
> > from ARRL
> > 73
> > Darrell AB2E
> >
> > "
> > ARRL IT Security Incident - Report to Members
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Sometime in early May 2024, ARRL’s systems network was compromised by
> threat actors (TAs) using information they had purchased on the dark web.
> The TAs accessed headquarters on-site systems and most cloud-based systems.
> They used a wide variety of payloads affecting everything from desktops and
> laptops to Windows-based and Linux-based servers. Despite the wide variety
> of target configurations, the TAs seemed to have a payload that would host
> and execute encryption or deletion of network-based IT assets, as well as
> launch demands for a ransom payment, for every system.
> >
> >
> >
> > This serious incident was an act of organized crime. The highly
> coordinated and executed attack took place during the early morning hours
> of May 15. That morning, as staff arrived, it was immediately apparent that
> ARRL had become the victim of an extensive and sophisticated ransomware
> attack. The FBI categorized the attack as “unique” as they had not seen
> this level of sophistication among the many other attacks, they have
> experience with. Within 3 hours a crisis management team had been
> constructed of ARRL management, an outside vendor with extensive resources
> and experience in the ransomware recovery space, attorneys experienced with
> managing the legal aspects of the attack including interfacing with the
> authorities, and our insurance carrier. The authorities were contacted
> immediately as was the ARRL President.
> >
> >
> >
> > The ransom demands by the TAs, in exchange for access to their
> decryption tools, were exorbitant. It was clear they didn’t know, and
> didn’t care, that they had attacked a small 501(c)(3) organization with
> limited resources. Their ransom demands were dramatically weakened by the
> fact that they did not have access to any compromising data. It was also
> clear that they believed ARRL had extensive insurance coverage that would
> cover a multi-million-dollar ransom payment. After days of tense
> negotiation and brinkmanship, ARRL agreed to pay a $1 million ransom. That
> payment, along with the cost of restoration, has been largely covered by
> our insurance policy.
> >
> >
> >
> > From the start of the incident, the ARRL board met weekly using a
> continuing special board meeting for full progress reports and to offer
> assistance. In the first few meetings there were significant details to
> cover, and the board was thoughtfully engaged, asked important questions,
> and was fully supportive of the team at HQ to keep the restoration efforts
> moving. Member updates were posted to a single page on the website and were
> posted across the internet in many forums and groups. ARRL worked closely
> with professionals deeply experienced in ransomware matters on every post.
> It is important to understand that the TAs had ARRL under a magnifying
> glass while we were negotiating. Based on the expert advice we were being
> given, we could not publicly communicate anything informative, useful, or
> potentially antagonistic to the TAs during this time frame.
> >
> >
> >
> > Today, most systems have been restored or are waiting for interfaces to
> come back online to interconnect them. While we have been in restoration
> mode, we have also been working to simplify the infrastructure to the
> extent possible. We anticipate that it may take another month or two to
> complete restoration under the new infrastructure guidelines and new
> standards.
> >
> >
> >
> > Most ARRL member benefits remained operational during the attack. One
> that wasn’t was Logbook of The World (LoTW), which is one of our most
> popular member benefits. LoTW data was not impacted by the attack and once
> the environment was ready to again permit public access to ARRL
> network-based servers, we returned LoTW into service. The fact that LoTW
> took less than 4 days to get through a backlog that at times exceeded over
> 60,000 logs was outstanding.
> >
> >
> >
> > The board at the ARRL Second Board Meeting in July voted to approve a
> new committee, the Information Technology Advisory Committee. This will be
> comprised of ARRL staff, board members with demonstrated experience in IT,
> and additional members from the IT industry who are currently employed as
> subject matter experts in a few areas. They will help analyze and advise on
> future steps to take with ARRL IT within the financial means available to
> the organization.
> >
> >
> >
> > We thank you for your patience as we navigated our way through this. The
> emails of moral support and offers of IT expertise were well received by
> the team. Although we are not entirely out of the woods yet and are still
> working to restore minor servers that serve internal needs (such as various
> email services like bulk mail and some internal reflectors), we are happy
> with the progress that has been made and for the incredible dedication of
> staff and consultants who continue to work together to bring this incident
> to a successful conclusion.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Copyright © 2024 American Radio Relay League, Incorporated. Use and
> distribution of this publication, or any portion thereof, is permitted for
> non-commercial or educational purposes, with attribution. All other
> purposes require written permission.
> >
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