Costa Rica’s Finance Ministry hit by Conti ransomware; taxes/customs crippled and trade stalled with $125M in losses

Beginning around 17–18 April 2022, Conti ransomware encrypted systems at Costa Rica’s Ministry of Finance, crippling the digital tax service and the IT platform for customs control. Authorities shut down systems for declaring taxes and managing imports/exports, which paralyzed customs processing and caused major delays at borders and ports. Local business groups reported about US$125 million in losses within 48 hours as customs operations were halted. The attack also involved data theft and extortion threats.