Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Sep 17, 2025

President Rodrigo Chaves says Costa Rica is at war with Conti hackers

President Rodrigo Chaves says Costa Rica is at war with Conti hackers

The president of Costa Rica says his country is "at war", as cyber-criminals cause major disruption to IT systems of numerous government ministries.

Rodrigo Chaves said hackers infiltrated 27 government institutions, including municipalities and state-run utilities.

The Conti ransomware cartel, which is thought to be run from Russia, has upped its ransom demand to $20m (£16m).

The criminals posted an appeal online to Costa Ricans to "go out on the street and demand payment".

Mr Chaves held a press conference on Monday to outline his "Plan for Implementation of Cyber-security Measures".

He gave no indication that he was planning on paying the ransom, in spite of growing disruption to government departments.

On Wednesday, the Costa Rican Treasury told civil servants that the hack had affected automatic payment services. It warned that they would not be paid on time, and would need to apply for their salaries by email, or on paper by hand.

The ministry said: "Due to the temporary downturn of the institutional systems, the service of issuing certificates regarding the amounts of salaries owed to the civil servants of the Central Administration is suspended.

"All applications received via email or in the windows of the National Accountancy will be attended to once systems are restored."

According to the government, the attacks also affected the country's foreign trade by hitting its tax and customs systems.

Mr Chaves launches his Plan for Implementation of Cyber-security Measures in response to the hack


The president, who was elected fewer than two weeks ago, declared the incident a "national emergency" and has repeatedly blamed his predecessor for not taking the cyber-attack seriously enough.

The hackers were demanding $10m when the attack started last month.

A government website says that a declaration of a state of emergency allows it, in exceptional cases, to undertake on its own some procedures that would normally require legislative approval.

For example, it allows the government to allocate public funds to deal with an emergency, without previous legislative consent.

"The attack being experienced by Costa Rica at the hands of cyber-criminals, cyber-terrorists, is declared a national emergency," Mr Chavez said, according to local media.

"We are signing this decree, precisely, to declare a state of national emergency across the entire public sector of the Costa Rican state, and allow our society to respond to those attacks as criminal actions."

The Conti hacking group has posted more than 600 gigabytes of government data online, and is threatening to publish more.

It has also posted on its darknet website that it will delete the decryption keys needed to restore the government's computer systems to normality, unless it is paid within a week.

"There is less than a week left when we destroy your keys, we are also working on gaining access to your other systems, you have no other options but to pay us," it threatened.


On its darknet website, Conti writes to the Costa Rican government: "You're forcing us to use terrible methods..."

And "terrible" is the word many cyber-security researchers are using to describe these new tactics the hackers are using to put pressure on the Costa Rican government to pay.

In the past, ransomware crews have attacked public bodies and local governments, but it is rare to see such a disruptive attack on a state.

It's also unprecedented to see such aggressive threats and direct appeals to Costa Ricans to "take to the streets".

The hackers also claim to have operatives on the inside of government - which may be unlikely but further piles the pressure on the president.

In some ways it all reads like desperation.

Conti has probably put a lot of work into its attack and it looks like it may come away empty-handed.

But it is also another terrible reminder of the power criminal hackers can wield, even against governments.

Conti is a prolific Russian speaking ransomware group responsible for many high-profile hacks.

In May 2021, the group carried out a "catastrophic hack" of the Irish Health Service.

On 6 May, the US offered a $10m reward for information about the group's leadership.

It blamed Conti for the cyber-attacks which hit Costa Rica.


Cyber-security researcher Maya Horowitz, of Check Point, says Costa Rica is not the only country to be targeted by criminals, who may be put off US organisations because of pressure from the authorities there.

"Recently we have seen two massive ransomware attacks in Costa Rica and Peru, both reportedly executed by the infamous Conti ransomware gang.

"Based on our latest research, Conti's extortion planning is very focused and based on the ability of the victim to pay," she added.

Mrs Horowitz said the research also suggested that the financial impact of a ransomware attack is "seven times higher than the initial extortion demand, but we assume in the case of a wide attack on a government like we see here, the total costs will be considerably more".


Watch: What is ransomware and how does it work?


Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
×