On November 9, 2023, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world's largest bank, was hit by a ransomware attack that disrupted trades in the U.S. Treasury market. The attack was carried out by the ransomware group LockBit, which demanded a ransom of $10 million from ICBC.

ICBC said that it was able to isolate the impacted systems and contain the incident. The bank also said that it was making progress in recovering from the attack and that it was in contact with law enforcement agencies in the United States and China.

The attack on ICBC is the latest in a string of high-profile ransomware attacks against financial institutions. In recent months, ransomware groups have also targeted banks in Costa Rica, Brazil, and India.

The increasing frequency of ransomware attacks against financial institutions has raised concerns about the security of the global financial system. Ransomware attacks can cause significant financial losses and disruptions to critical infrastructure.

In order to protect themselves from ransomware attacks, financial institutions should implement a number of security measures, including:

Regularly backing up data: This will allow the bank to restore its systems in the event of an attack.
Implementing strong access controls: This will help to prevent unauthorized access to systems.
Training employees on ransomware: This will help employees to identify and report ransomware attacks.
By taking these steps, financial institutions can help to protect themselves from the growing threat of ransomware.