Washington – According to senior US law enforcement and cyber officials, the US warning of Russian President Vladimir Putin to protect cybercriminals hiding in Russia seems to have had little effect.
“There is no indication that the Russian government has taken action to combat ransomware actors operating in the permissive environment they have created,” FBI Deputy Director Paul Abate said in an intelligence campaign on Tuesday. Summit on the outskirts of Washington.
“We have sought help and cooperation from people we know in Russia, and we have sued them, but we have not seen any action,” Abate said. “So, I would say that nothing has changed in this regard.”
US President Joe Biden has twice called on Russian leaders to take action against cybercriminals operating outside Russia-first at the Geneva summit in June and once on the phone a month later.
“I made it clear to him that the United States expects ransomware operations to come from his territory, even if it is not state-sponsored, but we want them to take action if we provide them with enough information to determine who it is,” Biden said in 7 Told reporters after the phone call on the month.
Biden and Putin discuss ransomware attacks from Russia
Biden warns of consequences if the attack continues
Since the initial talks, senior White House officials have noticed a decrease in ransomware attacks, but they have been reluctant to attribute this change to any action in Moscow.
“The current absence of criminal activity should not be confused with reliable policing,” National Network Director Chris Inglis told audiences late Tuesday.
He said: “There are still monetary incentives, and possibly geopolitical incentives, to make this situation come back,” he opposes calls for the United States to continue its offensive.
“There is a feeling that we might be able to fire some cyber bullets and then use our way to get rid of this situation. If we have a clear shot on cyber attackers and can take them offline, this will be useful in certain situations,” Inglis said. “This will not affect the leadership that allows this to happen.”
“We have to figure out what is important to Putin and the oligarchs and how we can change their decision-making calculations,” he added.
The Kremlin has repeatedly denied any role in a series of ransomware and cyber attacks against American companies and infrastructure.
After Biden’s call with Putin in July, it issued a statement in support of cooperation in cybersecurity, calling on such efforts “to be permanent, professional and non-political, and should be through special communication channels. Carry out… and respect international law.”
New: Discussion w/#Russia exist #The internet Go on, according to CyberAnne Neuberger’s Deputy National Security Advisor@POTUS “Looking for action,” she said, adding that the United States must also focus on “doing our best to lock our digital doors.”
— Jeff Selding (@jseldin) September 2, 2021
The United States blamed Russia or Russian cyberattacks for a series of high-profile hacking and ransomware attacks, including the December 2020 hacking attack on the US software management company SolarWinds, and the May 7 ransomware on Colonial Pipeline attack.America’s largest fuel pipeline operator
US officials accused the GRU of targeting the Democratic National Committee during the 2016 elections, as well as pharmaceutical companies that developed a vaccine against the coronavirus.
The United States, Britain warn Russia of “brute force” cyber campaign
U.S. officials urge agencies and organizations to take basic precautions as the first step in the counterattack
On Tuesday, when asked whether the United States was ready to take action against Russia, the commander of the US Cyber Command heard the White House.
“This is obviously decided by the president,” said General Paul Nakasone of the Cyber Command. “But these options will definitely be provided for him to consider.”
Masood Farivar of VOA contributed to this report.
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