Biden weighs response to ransomware attacks

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William Ivanina, who recently left a senior counterintelligence position in the US government and now advises companies, said he would advise Biden to “be bold.”

“We need to give Putin something to think about,” he said. “And while I know people in government who love the idea of ​​’invisible’ cyber operations, we have to show the American people and the private sector that we’re doing something about it.”

Putin denied that many of the attacks came from Russia and argued that the United States, with its cyber operations around the world, is the most active disruptive force on the Internet.

But it is clear that a large number of ransomware requests come from Russia, and ransomware code is often written to avoid infecting Russian-speaking targets.

Experts say that if Moscow wants to prevent Russian cybercriminals from hacking American targets, it will do so. That’s why, some Russian experts argue, the US needs to target Russia’s kleptocracy, either by leaking details of Mr. Putin’s financial statements or by freezing oligarchs’ bank accounts.

“The only language Putin understands is power, and his power is his money,” said Garry Kasparov, a Russian chess professor and a critic of Putin. “It is not about tanks. It is about banks. The United States must wipe out the accounts of the oligarch, one by one, until the message is delivered.”

At the moment, REvil has not shown any sign that it is downgrading operations.

In recent days, cybercriminals have continued to hijack US corporate networks. On Wednesday, REvil hit a new target: Florida defense contractor, HX5, which sells space launch technology and weapons to the Army, Navy, Air Force and NASA.

REvil posted hacked documents on its website featuring the label and defamation, “The Happy Blog”. None of it seem to have vital consequences, but the HX5 is the latest contractor to be hit.

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