Biden asks Putin to stop ransomware hackers | Abroad

According to the White House, Biden has emphasized his continued commitment to the wider threat of ransomware. He “reiterated that the United States will take all necessary steps to protect its population and vital infrastructure” against the ongoing cyberattacks.

A spokeswoman said there is no new information that would point to Moscow’s involvement in last week’s major cyber attack. Thousands of companies have been affected by that hack, which is believed to have been carried out by the Russian-affiliated hacker group REvil.

Counteractions

It is not clear whether the United States has already counteracted the major cyber attack. Biden told reporters Friday that an attack on the servers used for the cyber attacks is a possibility. A senior government official then added that a possible reaction from the American side will become clear in the coming days and weeks.

REvil was also behind the hack at meat-processing company JBS, which shut down a significant portion of the U.S. meat-processing industry last month. The company paid a ransom of $11 million after the cyber attack.

That attack came not long after a major hack against the American Colonial Pipeline. The cyber attack caused a major oil pipeline to be temporarily shut down, causing shortages of petrol at filling stations and driving up fuel prices. Russian hackers are also suspected of this, with the name DarkSide.

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