Biden tells Putin Russia must crack down on cybercriminals

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has told Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call that he must “take action” against cybercriminals acting in his country and that the U.S. reserves the right to “defend its people and its critical infrastructure” from future attacks. “I made it very clear to him that the United States expects when a ransomware operation is coming from his soil even though it’s not The call with Putin underscored the extent to which the ransomware threat from criminal hacker gangs has mushroomed into an urgent national security challenge for the White House, and it suggested a possible concession by the administration that earlier warnings to the Russian leader had failed to curb a criminal activity that has taken aim at businesses across the globe. In his call with Putin, besides reiterating the need for Russia to take action and that the U.S. stands ready to act in response, Biden also “emphasized that he is committed to continued engagement on the broader threat posed by ransomware,” the White House said. I’m optimistic.” In its own summary of the call, the Kremlin said “Putin noted that despite the Russian side’s readiness to jointly stop criminal activities in the information sphere, U.S. agencies haven’t made any requests during the past month.” The Kremlin said the two leaders emphasized the need for cooperation on cybersecurity, which it said “must be permanent, professional and non-politicized and should be conducted via special communication channels. and with respect to international law.” The Kremlin statement also noted that Biden and Putin touched on the situation in Syria “with a special emphasis on humanitarian aspects“ and “gave a positive assessment of coordination of Russian and U.S. efforts on the issue, including in the U.N. Security Council.” The White House declined to discuss the tone of Biden’s call, though press secretary Jen Psaki said it did focus significantly on the latest breach, which cybersecurity researchers have said infected victims in at least 17 countries, largely through firms that remotely manage IT infrastructure for multiple customers.