Pentagon Press Secy.: Response to Russia Cyberattack Isn’t Limited to Cyberspace
Options open in response to ransomware strikes
President Biden and his administration are considering an entire range of options to strike back in the event that Russia doesn't check its own cyberattacks eminating from that country, according to the spokesman at the Pentagon.
These so-called “ransomware” attacks — in which perpetrators use malicious software to hijack a victim's computers or networks until they pay a ransom for their release — has gone from a nuisance issue to, this year, a much more growing threat.
In what became one of the more notorious flashpoints for ransomware, Colonial Pipeline was forced to shut down its entire information technology infrastructure following a ransomware attack at the hands of the cybercrime gang DarkSide. The group stole over 100 gigabytes of data from the pipeline company after infiltrating its network and demanded around $5 million ransom from the victim organization. Colonial Pipeline eventually admitted to paying a $4.4 million ransom in bitcoin. Still, the Colonial Pipeline attack impacted gasoline supplies in some parts of the United States, causing temporary shortages and gas lines at some filling stations.
Many of these ransomware cyberattacks are launched from Russia or other former Soviet states.
And so the level of threat these attacks represent have become fodder for direct talks between President Biden and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, where Biden is pushing Putin to do more to crack down on ransomware criminals in his country.
The issue became a topic of discussion at both the Biden-Putin summit in Geneva Switzerland last month, as well as in a phone call last week between the two leaders.
Fox News host Chris Wallace asked Pentagon spokesman John Kirby directly what measures the US military, in particular, the US Cyber Command, has on the table in order to defend US interests against further such ransomware cyberattacks.
“Chris, I think you could understand the last thing I’m going to do on national TV is talk about cyber operations in any great detail. What I can tell you is our job is to provide options to the president,” Kirby replied. “Options in the cyber realm, options outside the cyber realm and because you face a cyber attack doesn’t mean that’s how you necessarily respond in kind.
“There’s a whole range of tools at the president’s disposal, some of those tools reside at the Pentagon and cyber command and we’ll be prepared and ready tee up those options for him when he might need them,” he added.
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