In a statement released on Friday, U.S. President Joe Biden declared that this month the White House will convoke a 30-country meeting in order to try to jointly fight against cybercrime and disrupt ransomware attacks.
The U.S. President stated that 30 countries, including NATO allies and the G7 partners, are expected to join the summit that will address the threat of ransomware attacks targeting businesses and entities all over the world.
This month, the United States will bring together 30 countries to accelerate our cooperation in combatting cybercrime, improving law enforcement collaboration, stemming the illicit use of cryptocurrency, and engaging on these issues diplomatically.
I am committed to strengthening our cybersecurity by hardening our critical infrastructure against cyberattacks, disrupting ransomware networks, working to establish and promote clear rules of the road for all nations in cyberspace, and making clear we will hold accountable those that threaten our security.
This announcement comes after a series of ransomware attacks this year that threatened US critical infrastructure organizations. Examples of such attacks are the ones on Colonial Pipeline, Kaseya, and the meatpacking org JBS.
US fuel supplier Colonial Pipeline was forced to shut down for days.
At the beginning of June, following the attacks on Colonial Pipeline and JBS, Deputy National Security Advisor Anne Neuberger advised American organizations to take ransomware seriously.
In July, Joe Biden has also warned that cyberattacks could escalate into a full-blown conflict as tensions with Russia and China grew because of a succession of hacking incidents impacting American organizations, agencies, and infrastructure.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki declared that the Biden administration will take action if the Russian president doesn’t suppress the cybercriminal activity within his country.
Also, Interpol urged police agencies and industry partners to join forces in preventing what may become a future ransomware pandemic following G7 leaders’ request for Russia to hedge against domestic ransomware groups.
Cyber threats can affect every American, every business regardless of size, and every community. That’s why my administration is marshalling a whole-of-nation effort to confront cyber threats.
We are building a coalition of nations to advocate for and invest in trusted 5G technology and to better secure our supply chains.
And, we are bringing the full strength of our capabilities to disrupt malicious cyber activity, including managing both the risks and opportunities of emerging technologies like quantum computing and artificial intelligence.