Security News > 2021 > June > White House Urges Private Companies to Help in Fight Against Ransomware
In an open letter, the White House this week urged corporate executives and business leaders to take the appropriate measures to protect their organizations against ransomware attacks, only days after meat-packaging giant JBS fell victim to such an attack.
The memo, signed by Anne Neuberger, deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technology, mentions the recent increase in the number of ransomware incidents, as well as the Biden administration's response to such attacks targeting government and private sector organizations.
The White House announced sanctions against multiple Russian individuals and companies, and revealed plans to step up its game on fighting ransomware.
"These efforts include disrupting ransomware networks, working with international partners to hold countries that harbor ransomware actors accountable, developing cohesive and consistent policies towards ransom payments and enabling rapid tracing and interdiction of virtual currency proceeds," Neuberger notes in this week's memo.
In the letter, Neuberger also underlines that private businesses too have "a critical responsibility to protect against these threats," listing a series of steps that all organizations can take to improve their resilience against ransomware and other cyber-threats.
"From what we have observed, ransomware attacks usually start with either tricking an employee into executing a malicious payload, or by exploiting internet-exposed systems. To protect against cyber-attacks it is critical that you train employees against social engineering attacks," Felipe Duarte, security researcher at Appgate, said in an emailed comment.