President Biden met with his administration's national security team to develop plans addressing the ransomware attacks perceived to be initiated by hackers from Russia, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki did not indicate if the administration is linking the Russian government or criminal actors to the attacks.
"What they did discuss is the fact that the President reserves the right to respond against any ransomware networks and those that harbor them. That continues to be his policy," Psaki told reporters.
Reuters reported Tuesday that a ransomware incident involving software provider Kaseya affected 800 to 1,500 businesses across the globe and the company's CEO, Fred Voccola, said he was not informed of any critical national organizations affected by the attack.
During the Geneva summit held June 17th, President Biden said he had told Russian President Vladimir Putin that "critical infrastructure," composed of 16 entities, must be forbidden for cyberattacks. Biden noted that responsible countries should deal with criminals within their territory that perform ransomware acts.
Earlier Tuesday, Psaki said U.S. officials would meet with Russian representatives next week to tackle the emerging cyber threats. "If the Russian government cannot or will not take action against criminal actors residing in Russia, we will take action, or reserve the right to take action, on our own."
