The president of the United States, Joe Biden, says that the fight against ransomware attacks can lead the North American nation and Russia to sign a bilateral agreement for cybersecurity.
La US-Russia Summit, held in Geneva (Switzerland) this Wednesday, brought together the president of the United States, Joe Biden and to the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin. The leaders met for more than 4 hours to address different issues and minimize the tensions that currently exist between both nations. One of the main themes of this summit was ciberseguridad and the ransomware.
Joe Biden spoke about his efforts to control the cyber attacks that have so besieged the North American nation in recent weeks. The president of the United States had prepared a work plan with which he seeks to reduce the incidence of these attacks and hold responsible the countries from where hacker groups operate. For the American president, it is necessary for countries to take action against cybercriminal groups that carry out their activities within their territories.
Biden clarified that his intentions are not to create a conflict with Russia, but that he will take action against illicit activities that harm the interests of his nation. For his part, the Russian president pointed out that both countries have responsibility in the issue of cybersecurity, so they must begin to delve into the obligations that each must assume.
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Path to a bilateral cybersecurity agreement
Although a bilateral treaty is not yet on the table, it appears that both nations are heading towards a possible agreement. Both Biden and Putin recognized the importance of working in a coordinated manner to minimize ransomware attacks.
According to review CNNPutin acknowledged that the United States had suffered a greater number of cyberattacks this year, and of greater importance, but that Russia had also seen several of its systems affected by this problem.
“We encounter this every year. For example, one of the health systems in a very important part of Russia was attacked.", stated Putin, who continued by saying that both countries must have their teams of experts to minimize their tensions and address this problem efficiently. The president assured that the Russian nation is prepared to work as a team.
For his part, Joe Biden hinted that the United States could reach an agreement with Russia and said that he will have a team of experts collaborate with the nation to investigate ransomware attacks. Biden said that it is possible that, within six to 6 months, the United States and Russia will sign a cybersecurity agreement that will begin to “put some order.”
During the summit, the leaders reported that they will restore the operations of their diplomatic corps. In this sense, Putin also expressed that the ambassadors of the United States and Russia will resume their jobs and functions.
Ransomware, a growing problem
In the last year, ransomware attacks have become significantly popular and widespread. Just a few weeks ago, two large American companies were victims of cyber kidnapping and extortion typical of these attacks.
Colonial pipeline, the largest oil pipeline company in the United States, suffered a hack into its systems that left part of its facilities inoperative for almost a week. Those responsible for the attack were the group's hackers DarkSide, who requested a reward of $4,4 million in cryptocurrency. After a week of inoperability, the company was forced to pay the ransom for the hackers to restore its services.
Joseph Blount, CEO of Colonial Pipeline, told the Wall Street Journal that he was not thrilled to have paid the ransom to the hackers, but that he did it for the good of the population and his clients.
“I admit that I didn't feel comfortable seeing money going out the door to people like this.”
For its part, JBS, a Brazilian company with a large presence in the United States, was also the victim of a cyberattack that forced it to pay $11 million to hackers. André Nogueira, general director of JBS in the United States, stated that paying the ransom was a very difficult decision to make, both for him and for the meat processing company.
JBS saw its systems disrupted by a ransomware attack carried out by the group REVIL, which is believed to operate from Russia. Nogueira revealed that the company had already restored its operations at the time of paying the ransom, but that he had to pay it anyway to ensure that the group does not attack again in the future.
Both situations further fueled the American president's decision to create an immediate work plan to help protect the nation from these attacks.
The G7 and its fight against ransomware
Furthermore, the G7, made up of the world's largest economies (United States, Germany, Canada, France, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom) is also taking action to fight ransomware attacks. The group of countries prioritized cybersecurity on their agenda.
Earlier this week, the G7 presented a Valid identity document where they express that they will begin to take action against corruption and ransomware. The Biden-led group agreed on a set of concrete actions to combat the threats of ransomware and cyberattacks, and to hold accountable “permissive” nations that allow hacking groups to operate.
The fight against ransomware has become a priority for the security of nations, as hackers are not only hijacking private information, but also threatening to make it public domain. At the end of May, the Washington DC Police In the United States, he was negotiating with a group of hackers to prevent part of his kidnapped database, with highly confidential information from agents and informants, from being published on the Internet.
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