Joe Biden added Vladimir Putin Take action against ransomware organizations operating from Russia, and warned that if cyber hacking attacks are not stopped, the United States is prepared to respond.
On Friday, the two leaders had an hour-long conversation, which was their first call since last Friday. Ransomware attacks were discussed at a summit June 16th in Geneva. Biden’s message to Putin on the phone is direct, showing that people are becoming more and more impatient with attacks that undermine key US departments.
“I made it clear to him that the United States hopes that when the ransomware operation comes from his territory, even if it is not sponsored by the state, we also want them to take action if we provide them with enough information to determine who it is,” Bye Deng told reporters.
He said that the two governments have now established a way of regular communication, “when each of us thinks that something is happening in another country that affects our country.”
“So it went smoothly. I am optimistic,” he said.
The United States has not yet indicated how it plans to respond to Russia, But Biden hinted that if it does not cooperate with Russia, it will carry out digital retaliation.
When asked by a Reuters reporter if it made sense to attack the Russian server used for this type of intrusion, Biden paused, smiling and saying, “Yes.”
Biden told reporters that Russia’s inaction would have consequences, but did not provide details. He said that the joint meeting was scheduled for July 16, adding, “I believe we will get cooperation.”
A senior Biden Administration The official said that there will be a response soon. “We will not accurately convey the specific content of these actions-some of them will be obvious, some may not-but we expect these will happen in the next few days and weeks,” the person in charge told reporters.
Ransomware is a type of malicious software that hackers use to hijack data in exchange for payment. Cybercriminals used it to paralyze thousands of American organizations and businesses around the world, triggering a series of increasingly high-profile crises.
U.S. officials and cybersecurity researchers claim that many ransomware attacks are carried out outside Russia, even without the approval of the local government.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Friday that the United States has no new information indicating that the Russian government has instructed Last week’s ransomware attack on Florida IT company Kaseya Initiated by the prolific cybercrime group REvil, but stated that Moscow has a responsibility to take action against such groups operating in Russia.
Moscow and Washington disagree on whether the United States officially seeks Russian assistance to curb ransomware attacks.
A statement from the Kremlin said that Putin told Biden that Russia “although Russia was prepared to jointly stop crimes in the information field, it did not receive any requests from the relevant US authorities last month.”
Senior officials in the Biden administration raised objections to this statement and told reporters on the conference call that the United States had made a number of requests to Russia through normal diplomatic channels.
Internet crime has plagued US-Russian relations since the 1990s, when US cyber experts first began to complain about spam from Russia. But the destructive power of ransomware has raised the problem to a new level.
In May, cybercriminals allegedly operating in Russia froze Critical Fuel Transportation Group Colony Pipeline, Causing gasoline shortages, soaring prices, and panic buying on the East Coast of the United States.
The next month, another group related to Russia, REvil, cracking down on meat processor JBS, Temporarily disrupted its food supply chain. Last week, the same organization claimed responsibility for a large-scale ransomware outbreak centered on Kaseya.
