While speaking at a recent hedge fund conference in Las Vegas, John Carlin, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, said that his organization has been working with “several” hedge funds that have fallen victim to cyber extortionists.
Carlin told the crowd of hedge fund professionals that, “we are seeing nation-state action – from Russian, China, Iran and North Korea — target your companies and what you have, day in and day out, to use your information against you.”
Carlin warned, “one group develops it (the software) and another criminal group rents the software to encrypt all of your files and then say, “Give us $1 million if you want to see your information again.” He also stated that the Department of Justice has been working with a number of hedge funds that have already suffered such attacks. Carlin encouraged organizations to reach out to the DOJ, which includes the FBI, if they fall victim to an attack and not to be fearful that “giving the government access to their corporate secrets might backfire.”