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Joe Biden warned Vladimir Putin that Russia would face consequences if it did not act against hackers after a period of time ransomware attacks, saying the U.S. would take “any action necessary” to protect its people and infrastructure.
The White House said the two leaders spoke by telephone on Friday “about ongoing ransomware attacks by Russia-based criminals that have affected the United States and other countries around the world,” in their first conversation since he met in Geneva last month.
Biden “stressed the need for Russia to take steps to disrupt ransomware groups operating in Russia and stressed that it is committed to continuing its commitment to the broader threat posed by ransomware,” the White House said.
The U.S. president also “reiterated that the United States will take the necessary steps to defend its people and its critical infrastructure in the face of this continuing challenge,” according to the White House.
“I made it very clear to you that the United States is waiting for a ransomware operation to arrive from its territory, even though the state is not sponsored, we hope they will act,” Biden He told reporters at a White House event Friday later, adding, “It went well. I’m optimistic.”
When asked if Russia would have consequences for not dealing with ransomware hackers, Biden replied, “Yes.”
A senior administration official later told reporters, “We are not going to telegraph what these actions will be exactly. Some of them will be visible and visible, others will not. But we hope they will occur in the coming days and weeks “.
Jen Psaki, a White House press secretary, said the one-hour phone call was an “example” of “being clear and forthright when there is disagreement.”
The Kremlin’s account of the conversation pointed this out To put He told Biden that Moscow had not received any request for cooperation from the U.S. government since the Geneva meeting, despite Russia’s “willingness to jointly suppress cybercrime.”
“Given the scope and severity of the challenges in this area, the interaction between Russia and the United States should be permanent, professional and non-politicized,” the Kremlin said in a statement. The two presidents also discussed the Syrian war and US-Russia cooperation in the area, the Kremlin added.
A senior Biden administration official withdrew the Kremlin’s statement: “We have transmitted to Russia multiple specific requests for action against cybercriminals through official channels and made it clear what Russia’s responsibility is in relation to the seizure. of measures, even today at the level of the two presidents “.
Ransomware attacks, in which hackers seize a company’s systems or data, only to publish them if a ransom is paid proliferated recently, as a pandemic-related shift to remote work has left companies more vulnerable to intruders.
Friday’s call follows a series of especially bold and disruptive attacks this year, including by Americans. Colonial Conduct, which was forced to close temporarily and against JBS, the world’s largest meat processor.
Over the past weekend, the REvil piracy cartel continued Global Ransomware Game aimed at an information technology supply chain, which hit nearly 1,500 companies and forced the Swedish group Coop to close 800 of its supermarkets after the cash registers stopped working. Hackers have demanded a $ 70 million ransom to unlock the data, restarting the debate over whether companies should pay criminals or not.
All three attacks have been attributed by investigators to Russian-speaking ransomware gangs operating in Russia. Some US cybersecurity experts accuse Moscow of hosting ransomware criminals, avoiding prosecuting them on the grounds that they do not affect Russian companies and handing over stolen data or a reduction in profits if asked.
Separately, a Republican National Committee contractor was hacked this week, though investigators believe it is a state-backed attack and not a criminal enterprise. Psaki declined to say whether Biden put pressure on Putin.
Biden and Putin met face to face last month for the first time since Biden became president. Biden later told reporters that he had given Putin a list of “certain critical infrastructures [that] it should be out of bounds ”of cyberattacks, detailing 16 entities.
Despite the discussion, ransomware hackers have continued to target these sectors, according to Brett Callow, an analyst at cybersecurity group Emsisoft. In particular, the local government, health and education sectors have suffered at least 30 ransomware breaches since June, he said.
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