Costa Rica declares national emergency amid ransomware attacks

President Rodrigo Chaves establishes emergency commission as one of his first acts amid attacks by Russian-speaking gang

After a month of crippling ransomware attacks, Costa Rica has declared a state of emergency invoking a measure usually reserved to deal with natural disasters or the Covid-19 pandemic to allow the government to react more nimbly to the crisis.

President Rodrigo Chaves, who was sworn in on Sunday, made the emergency declaration one of his first acts. It was published on Wednesday, but Chaves has not named the members of the National Emergency Commission.