President Joe Biden has not ruled out slapping new sanctions on Russia after hacks of firms that provide gasoline and beef to Americans, with his top spokeswoman also putting the onus on private-sector companies to defend their own networks.
“Responsible states do not harbor ransomware criminals,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Wednesday. “President Biden certainly thinks Putin and the Russian government have a role to play in stopping these attacks.”
Just weeks before Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet face to face in Switzerland, Psaki said the U.S. leader believes his counterpart has a “responsibility” to crack down on criminal hacker groups operating from his soil.
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Asked if Biden might pursue penalties for any Russian officials or entities over the two hacks, believed to have emanated from Russia, Psaki said: “We’re not taking any options off the table in terms of how we may respond.”
Brazil-based JBS SA announced on Sunday that servers supporting its IT systems were hit in the attack just weeks after a Russian group forced the shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline, driving down gasoline availability and sending prices soaring up and down the East Coast. JBS provides about 23% of beef cattle slaughter capacity in the United States.
Psaki noted that Biden has signed an executive order intended to help companies harden their systems.
Repeatedly during Wednesday’s briefing, she also stated the administration’s belief that companies are chiefly responsible for preventing intrusions of their systems that might lead to higher prices of goods.
At one point, for instance, she said the Biden administration, and ones before it, have published guidelines on safeguarding against hacks that industry should closely follow.
Psaki reiterated what her top aide said the day before: Their boss intends to press Putin on ransomware hacks, and a list of other issues, when they meet this month.
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“Certainly,” Psaki said, “protecting our infrastructure in the United States is of utmost importance to us.”
