Credit union professionals can access the latest, updated ransomware advisory from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. In response to the increase of ransomware attacks in recent months, FinCEN updated its 2020 advisory on ransomware, the agency announced on Monday.

The agency cited the May 2021 ransomware attack that disrupted the operations of Colonial Pipeline and recent attacks on entities in the manufacturing, legal services, insurance, financial services, health care, energy and food production sectors as the primary reason for the update, noting the role of financial “intermediaries” in facilitating ransomware payments.

“Ransomware attacks are a growing concern for the financial sector because of the critical role financial institutions play in the collection of ransom payments,” the advisory states. “Processing ransomware payments is typically a multi-step process that involves at least one depository institution and one or more entities directly or indirectly facilitating victim payments, including money services businesses.”

FinCEN issued the original advisory to alert financial institutions to predominant trends, typologies and potential indicators of ransomware and associated money laundering activities.

The updated advisory contains a series of financial red flag indicators of ransomware-related illicit activity to assist financial institutions in detecting, preventing and reporting suspicious transactions associated with ransomware attacks.

The advisory states that no single financial red flag indicator is indicative of illicit or suspicious activity, however financial institutions should consider the relevant facts and circumstances of each transaction, in keeping with their risk-based approach to compliance.

The updated ransomware advisory can be accessed on the FinCEN website.