Colombia’s Ministry of Justice hit by ransomware attack

Colombia's Ministry of Justice confirmed a ransomware attack disrupted parts of its technology infrastructure and degraded public-facing services on Aug. 2, just five days before the nation's presidential handover, as reported by Dark Reading.

The attack, which impacted services related to illicit-drug monitoring and legal processes, followed a warning from Colombia's national CERT about increased ransomware group focus on the country. While initial reports suggested data leakage, the acting Minister of Justice denied any data capture, stating only that files were encrypted and recovery efforts were underway. This incident occurred as Colombia was also dealing with the aftermath of a 7.4-magnitude earthquake.

The nation has seen a rise in cyberattacks targeting government agencies and state-owned companies, including past incidents at the national tax authority (DIAN) and Ecopetrol SA, the country's largest oil and gas company. Experts note a significant increase in exploit attempts and a growing concentration of malicious activity on vulnerable infrastructure in Colombia, mirroring a broader trend across Latin America. This surge is attributed to automated and mature threat ecosystems, with attackers exploiting cloud service vulnerabilities and third-party relationships.

Source: Dark Reading