Jack Rhysider

Nah, you know what? This video only has 500 views, so no, you did not see this video either. Well, both of these talks are by a guy named Omar Avales, and he's talking about the worst day of his life. It's a chilling story. But since you haven't seen this talk, I really want you to hear it. And since it's in Spanish, I'm going to have to call up Omar to see if he can tell us the story in English.

Nah, you know what? This video only has 500 views, so no, you did not see this video either. Well, both of these talks are by a guy named Omar Avales, and he's talking about the worst day of his life. It's a chilling story. But since you haven't seen this talk, I really want you to hear it. And since it's in Spanish, I'm going to have to call up Omar to see if he can tell us the story in English.

Across the Caribbean Sea, next to Panama, is Costa Rica. And what Omar saw happening in Costa Rica struck his curiosity.

Across the Caribbean Sea, next to Panama, is Costa Rica. And what Omar saw happening in Costa Rica struck his curiosity.

Whoa, that's kind of dramatic, isn't it? Declared war? Seriously? Like you go in to deploy troops and send fighter jets because someone put ransomware on your computers? Does Costa Rica even have fighter jets? Anyway, because Omar is in part of Latin America, he was watching this story unfold.

Whoa, that's kind of dramatic, isn't it? Declared war? Seriously? Like you go in to deploy troops and send fighter jets because someone put ransomware on your computers? Does Costa Rica even have fighter jets? Anyway, because Omar is in part of Latin America, he was watching this story unfold.

Hmm. Sorry, I had a bad connection with Omar when we were talking. So let me repeat that for you. Omar worked in the CCERT for the Dominican Republic. CCERT is an acronym which stands for Cyber Security Incident Response Team. And this CCERT unit falls under the Department of Defense in the Dominican Republic. So when cyber attacks threaten national security, Omar was there to review it.

Hmm. Sorry, I had a bad connection with Omar when we were talking. So let me repeat that for you. Omar worked in the CCERT for the Dominican Republic. CCERT is an acronym which stands for Cyber Security Incident Response Team. And this CCERT unit falls under the Department of Defense in the Dominican Republic. So when cyber attacks threaten national security, Omar was there to review it.

But what's more is the Dominican Republic CCERT is part of a community of other incident response teams within Latin America.

But what's more is the Dominican Republic CCERT is part of a community of other incident response teams within Latin America.

What he saw was that 20 different government organizations in Costa Rica were hit with this Conti ransomware. This was a very widespread problem within their government, so it's no wonder they were reaching out for help anywhere they could. Many parts of the Costa Rican government came to a halt, and they were frantic over there.

What he saw was that 20 different government organizations in Costa Rica were hit with this Conti ransomware. This was a very widespread problem within their government, so it's no wonder they were reaching out for help anywhere they could. Many parts of the Costa Rican government came to a halt, and they were frantic over there.

But this gave Omar the ability to research and understand this Conti ransomware better.

But this gave Omar the ability to research and understand this Conti ransomware better.

Wow, that's really remarkable. See, when I hear that 20 departments were hit, I immediately think that there must be some central connection that allowed the malware to spread internally. You know, like if you can get in through the front door, now you can take a tunnel to all the other buildings or something.

Wow, that's really remarkable. See, when I hear that 20 departments were hit, I immediately think that there must be some central connection that allowed the malware to spread internally. You know, like if you can get in through the front door, now you can take a tunnel to all the other buildings or something.

But no, what Omar saw was that each of these 20 departments were infected separately, some of which were infected through phishing emails and some from malware put right on systems that were connected to the Internet. But just because the malware got inside each of these places, it didn't actually turn on until the right time.

But no, what Omar saw was that each of these 20 departments were infected separately, some of which were infected through phishing emails and some from malware put right on systems that were connected to the Internet. But just because the malware got inside each of these places, it didn't actually turn on until the right time.

It was coordinated that when enough systems got infected, it would trigger the ransomware to lock all the computers at once and demand payment to unlock them. Now, the motive behind putting ransomware on systems like this is typically just to make money. I believe they were asking for $20 million to unlock Costa Rica's systems. So whoever did this seemed to be there only for financial gain.

It was coordinated that when enough systems got infected, it would trigger the ransomware to lock all the computers at once and demand payment to unlock them. Now, the motive behind putting ransomware on systems like this is typically just to make money. I believe they were asking for $20 million to unlock Costa Rica's systems. So whoever did this seemed to be there only for financial gain.