President Joe Biden pressed Russian President Vladimir Putin Friday to take action against the groups that carried out a recent string of ransomware attacks or risk retaliation by the United States, his latest warning in a standoff between the Cold War rivals.
In addition to discussing the United Nations Security Council’s Friday decision to continue humanitarian aid in Syria, “President Biden also spoke with President Putin about the ongoing ransomware attacks by criminals based in Russia that have impacted the United States and other countries around the world,” a readout of the call supplied by the White House states.
“President Biden underscored the need for Russia to take action to disrupt ransomware groups operating in Russia and emphasized that he is committed to continued engagement on the broader threat posed by ransomware,” the readout continued. “President Biden reiterated that the United States will take any necessary action to defend its people and its critical infrastructure in the face of this continuing challenge.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki elaborated on the call at Friday’s briefing.
“This is the first time, even though ransomware attacks have been increasing over the past 18 months, if not longer, that there has been engagement at this level, and certainly the president knew even when they met in Geneva that there would be a need for ongoing discussions and engagements,” Psaki stated. “He underscored the need for Present Putin to take action to disrupt these ransomware groups. REvil we know operates in Russia and other countries around the world, and we don’t have additional or new information suggesting the Russian government directed these attacks.”
Psaki reiterated that “the United States will take any necessary action to defend its people and its critical infrastructure” but declined to state whether or not Putin agreed to comply with Biden’s demands.
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This is an ongoing story and will be updated with more information as it becomes available.
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Tags: News, Joe Biden, Vladimir Putin, Russia, White House, Cybersecurity, Ransomware attack
Original Author: Christian Datoc
Original Location: Biden again tells Putin to ‘take action’ against ransomware attacks or risk US retaliation