Kuwait Isolates Some Government Systems Following Attack on its Finance Ministry

The government of Kuwait is recovering from a ransomware attack that targeted its Ministry of Finance. The attack started on September 18, and officials immediately took steps to isolate and shut down affected systems. The Ministry of Finance assured that payment and payroll systems were on a separate network and that workers would be paid. The National Cyber Center of Kuwait has been working tirelessly to address the issue, with assistance from cybersecurity companies and other governments. The Rhysida ransomware gang, known for targeting governments, has given the Kuwaiti government seven days to pay an undisclosed ransom. This attack comes in the same week that the U.S. National Security Council called on countries to pledge not to pay ransomware hackers.