President Joe Biden told reporters Friday afternoon that Russia will face consequences after cybercriminals within the country carried out a string of recent ransomware attacks against targets in the United States.
Following an executive order signing ceremony, a reporter asked Biden “if there will be consequences” for Russia, to which the president responded simply, “Yes.”
“I made it very clear to [Russian President Vladimir Putin] that the United States expects when ransomware operation is coming from his soil, even though it’s not sponsored by the state, we expect him to act and give us enough information to act on who that is,” he stated following a call with his Kremlin counterpart. “Secondly, we have set up a means of communication now on a regular basis to be able to communicate with one another, when each of us thinks something’s happening in another country, it affects the home country. And so, it went well. I’m optimistic.”
Earlier that day, Biden held an hourlong call with Putin, and the White House contends that he pressed the Kremlin to take action against the groups that carried out the recent string of ransomware attacks or risk retaliation by the U.S., a summary of the call supplied by the White House read.
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,” the White House wrote.
“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.”
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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 said. “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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You can watch Friday’s entire White House briefing below.
