Mastercard Jumps Into the Anti-Ransomware Fight by Joining Europol’s NoMoreRansom Initiative

Mastercard Inc. has become the first payment card network to join the NoMoreRansom initiative sponsored by Europol, a support-services organization for law-enforcement agencies in the European Union.

Europol says the 3-year-old NoMoreRansom public-private partnership project has helped 200,000 ransomware victims recover their computer files free of charge and has prevented $108 million from being paid to fraudsters. Europol, based in The Hague, Netherlands, says visitors to NoMoreRansom’s portal have come from 188 countries. The portal added 14 new tools this year and claims it can decrypt 109 different types of ransomware.

Ransomware attacks typically consist of malicious software planting itself on a victim’s computer after the victim opens an email attachment or link. The software encrypts the computer’s files, with the sender demanding a payment, often in Bitcoin, in order to provide the decryption key. One recent study found that the amounts ransomware extortionists are demanding have been rising dramatically. In the U.S., a number of municipalities, including big cities such as Atlanta, Baltimore, and some smaller towns, have suffered ransomware attacks within the past year. 

NoMoreRansom has 150 members, including many law-enforcement agencies, tech companies, and data-security organizations. 

A Mastercard spokesperson could not be reached for comment Monday.