Security News

This week the White House held a summit with various nations to address the threat of ransomware. The White House held a virtual ransomware summit this week with over 30 countries in attendance-although a few notable nations were excluded, such as China, Russia and North Korea.

"Taking action to disrupt the ransomware business model requires concerted efforts to address illicit finance risks posed by all value transfer systems, including virtual assets, the primary instrument criminals use for ransomware payments and subsequent money laundering." As incident after incident of ransomware infection requires payments in cryptocurrency, there is little reason to doubt this is a crytpocurrency crackdown.

In a meeting with President Biden at the White House on Wednesday, Apple, Google, Microsoft and other companies announced their intentions to devote money and training toward strengthening U.S. cybersecurity. As one step, the White House said that the National Institute of Standards and Technology will work with businesses to improve the security of the technology supply chain.

Jen Easterly, former NSA official and Morgan Stanley vet, will take up the lead at CISA as the ransomware scourge rages on. The U.S. has made a key move to shore up its cybersecurity strategy, with the confirmation of Jen Easterly as the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency on Monday.

Image: Srikanta H. U. Following recent ransomware attacks, Deputy National Security Advisor Anne Neuberger asked US mayors to immediately hold a meeting with state agencies' chiefs to evaluate their cybersecurity posture. Local governments have been under a constant barrage of ransomware attacks during the last few years as highlighted by an FBI public service announcement issued last year.

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.

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 new White House memo to business leaders underscores the threat of ransomware and offers advice on how to protect their companies. Following recent cyberattacks against key operations in the U.S., the White House is pushing companies to take ransomware seriously and beef up their defenses against it.

The White House has urged business leaders and corporate executives to take ransomware attacks seriously in a letter issued by Anne Neuberger, the National Security Council's chief cybersecurity adviser. "The most important takeaway from the recent spate of ransomware attacks on U.S., Irish, German and other organizations around the world is that companies that view ransomware as a threat to their core business operations rather than a simple risk of data theft will react and recover more effectively," Neuberger said.

Australian police are investigating a ransomware attack at the facilities of JBS Foods - one of the largest producers of meat in the world - as the White House fingers Russia-based cybercriminals. The attack has forced the Brazilian-owned business, which operates 47 facilities across Australia, with others located in Brazil, the US, and Canada, to stop production in some units.