Security News > 2021 > June > White House urges private sector to enhance their ransomware defenses

In light of the ransomware attacks hitting high-profile targets such as the Colonial Pipeline and JBS, the White House has issued an open letter to private sector companies, urging them to do their part to stymie the threat.

The Federal Government is working with partners around the world to disrupt and deter ransomware actors, by making an effort to disrupt ransomware networks, working with international partners to hold countries that harbor ransomware actors accountable, developing policies towards ransom payments and enabling rapid tracing and interdiction of virtual currency proceeds, noted Anne Neuberger, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology.

A global tackling of the ransomware threat is needed.

In late April, the Institute for Security and Technology's Ransomware Task Force has published a strategic framework to help worldwide organizations fight against ransomware.

"It is no longer speculation that ransomware can impact our way of life. It can. Colonial Pipeline and JBS USA impacted U.S. citizens' behaviors and prompted fears of shortages that turned into actual shortages. To think of it as terrorism fits the effects and impact of real world ransomware cases today," noted James Shank, a member of the Ransomware Task Force and Chief Architect of Community Services at Team Cymru.

"Seeing this increase in prioritization and to hear of this coordinated response by the U.S. Government is wonderful! It's a U.S. problem and a global problem. We need coordinated response both in terms of public-private partnership but also on the global stage. I hope this results in curbing the ongoing increases in ransomware events and ransomware demands. Right now, too much of the risk is borne by the victims, and the ransomware actors operate, more or less, with impunity. It is time to change the balance of that equation."

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