Many ransomware gangs operate from Ukraine and Russia, private
sector cybersecurity experts say. Some U.S. officials and
analysts have said Russian ransomware gangs operate with the
Kremlin's tacit approval, but are not directly controlled by the
government.
The meeting will be held over two days, involve six sessions and
include topics such as addressing the misuse of virtual currency
to launder ransom payments, prosecuting ransomware criminals,
using diplomacy to counter ransomware, and helping nations
become more resilient to such attacks, the administration
official said.
Along with the United States, four countries including India,
Australia, Germany and the United Kingdom will lead discussions
on topics such as disruption, virtual currency and diplomacy.
Others joining the meeting include Canada, France, the United
Kingdom, Brazil, Mexico, Japan, Ukraine, Ireland, Israel, South
Africa, the European Union.
"We are having active discussions with the Russians, but in this
particular forum they were not invited to participate," the
senior administration official said, adding this does not
preclude Russia from participating in future events.
The official said the United States engages directly with Russia
on the issue of ransomware under the US-Kremlin Experts Group,
which is led by the White House and has been established by
President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The official said discussions with Russia are ongoing, the U.S.
has shared information on specific criminal actors within Russia
and that the country has taken initial steps to address the
issues being raised.
President Joe Biden has elevated the response to cybersercurity
to the senior-most levels of the administration following a set
of attacks this year that threatened to destabilize U.S. energy
and food supplies.
Hackers caused fuel disruptions in the eastern United States in
May when they targeted a pipeline run by Colonial Pipeline.
The Biden administration hopes that their new informal group,
which they are calling the Counter-Ransomware Initiative, will
bolster their diplomatic push that has included direct talks
with Russia as well as the NATO alliance and Group of Seven
wealthy nations.
(Reporting by Nandita Bose in Washington, Additional reporting
by Chris Bing; Editing by Alistair Bell)
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