Business
Early Warning to Businesses - White House Warns Companies to Act Now on Ransomware Defenses By David E. Sanger and Nicole Perlroth
THE WHITE HOUSE WARNED American businesses on Thursday, June 3, 2021 to take urgent security measures to protect against ransomware attacks, as hackers shift their tactics from stealing data to disrupting critical infrastructure. The bluntly worded open letter followed a string of escalating ransomware attacks that stopped gasoline and jet fuel from flowing up the East Coast and closed off beef and pork production from one of the country’s leading food suppliers.
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July-August 2021
Anne Neuberger, the deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technologies, wrote that the Biden administration was working with partners “to disrupt and deter” attacks that deployed ransomware, a form of malware that encrypts data until the victim pays. But she urged companies to adopt many of the same defensive steps that it has recently required of federal agencies and companies that do business with the government. The message amounted to a rush effort to construct the kind of defensive infrastructure for cyberattacks on the United States that has been broadly discussed for years — but that companies have been slow to adapt, because either the threat seemed distant or the cost far too high. The recent attacks have propelled ransomware to the top of President Biden’s national security agenda. It is expected to be part of his discussions next week in Europe, during meetings with allies, and in his summit with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. The administration accuses Russia of both launching cyberattacks against the United States and harboring ransomware hackers. Ms. Neuberger noted “a recent shift in ransomware attacks — from stealing data to disrupting operations.” She urged firms to make sure that their “corporate business functions and manufacturing/ production operation are separated,” so that an attack on business records, such as emails or billing operations, does not cut off critical production and supply lines. The past month has shown that DAWN
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