Joe Biden calls on Vladimir Putin to take action against Russian cyberattacks

Joe Biden asked Vladimir Putin, on Friday, July 9, during a phone call, to act against attacks on “ransomware” Executed by Russia, under penalty of US vision “Necessary measures” for defence.

The US president, who previously raised his tone on the subject when he met his Russian counterpart in Geneva in June, has been under pressure since the horrific attack a week ago on US computer company Kaseya by Russian-speaking hackers.

Faced with Republican opposition demanding revenge, Joe Biden on Tuesday discussed with top officials, including intelligence or justice, the response. Then he announced that “send” Letter to Vladimir Putin.

So on Friday, the Democrat spoke directly with his Russian counterpart. “The President stressed the importance of Russia taking action against ransomware groups.” From his territory, according to a statement issued by the White House. he is “I reaffirm that the United States will take all necessary measures to defend its population and essential infrastructure in the face of this continuing challenge.”, according to this report. conversation “It went well, I’m optimistic”Then Joe Biden said. Asked about capabilities ” consequences “confirmed it ” Yeah “There will be, without revealing anything.

“cyber power”

The US has recently been affected by several “ransomware” attacks, which involve breaking into an entity’s networks to encrypt its data, then demanding a ransom, often in bitcoins, in exchange for a decryption key.

In addition to Kaseya, which is still unable to restart its servers, the hackers attacked the multinational food maker JBS, the manager of the Colonial Pipeline, as well as US communities and hospitals.

Although Moscow denies any responsibility, most of these extortion attempts have been attributed to hackers operating from Russian soil.

At their summit in Switzerland, the two men addressed the issue and agreed to continue the dialogue, with meetings between Russian and American cybersecurity experts. Joe Biden also threatened his counterpart with retaliation if red lines were crossed. “I indicated to him that we have great electronic capacity”, had been reported. “Most of the cyberattacks in the world come from the American space.”Vladimir Putin responded by accusing Washington of not cooperating against the pirates.

“non-political”

On Friday, by phone, the Russian president remained on this line: “Vladimir Putin noted that despite Russia’s willingness to help fight cybercriminals, in recent months we have not received any requests [d’entraide de la part des enquêteurs américains] »According to a statement issued by the Kremlin. “Given the scale and severity of the problem, interactions between Russia and the United States should be permanent, professional and apolitical.”, according to this press release.

The US Department of Justice estimated in June “Useless” To submit requests for extradition to Russia, accused of protecting infiltrators installed on its territory in exchange for their assistance In areas of interest to the government.

Despite everything, the White House seems to want to avoid a very direct confrontation. His spokesman Jin Psaki noted on Friday « [ne pas avoir] New information indicates that the Russian government may have led recent attacks.