Biden orders probe into IT firms ransomware attack
2 min readTL;DR Breakdown
- Biden angered by the recent ransomware hack on IT firms
- Why US is weary of Ransomware hacks
Friday IT firms ransomware attack has angered the President of the United States of America, Joe Biden, prompting him to order a probe into the cybersecurity attack.
The US President, who was displeased by the development, ordered the investigation during a public appearance. In his remarks, he mentioned that officials “were not certain” as to the original source of the attack.
“The initial thinking was it was not the Russian government, but we’re not sure yet,” he was quoted as saying. He said he had mandated US intelligence agencies to investigate, and the US would respond if it determined Russia was to blame.
This is despite a recent meeting between him and the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, where he urged the Russian to crack down on hackers from Russia and warned of consequences if ransomware attacks continued.
The IT firms ransomware attack which led to Biden’s vexation
On Friday, US businesses in their hundreds were forced to shut down after an unusually sophisticated ransomware attack that hijacked widely used technology management software from a Miami-based supplier called Kaseya.
BBC reports that the ransomware attack led to over 500 Coop supermarkets in Sweden to shut down.
The supermarket was not itself targeted by hackers – but is one of a growing number of organizations affected by an attack on a large software supplier the company uses indirectly.
Cyber researchers say about 200 businesses were hit by the “colossal” ransomware attack, which mainly affected the US.
Why US is worried about cyber attacks
The world power has recently been subjected to several ransomware attacks, which have happened frequently.
Since the Biden administration took over government about six months ago, about four high-profile cyst attacks has happened targeted at big American firms.
Before the Kaseya, which got attacked on Friday, recently, the Colonial Pipeline in the country was attacked by cyber-terrorists. After crippling cyber operations of the colonial pipeline, gas became expensive in some parts of the US for the time the pipeline was shut down.
Ransom had to be paid to the anonymous hackers before authorities could regain control of the pipeline again.
JBS Holding, the largest supplier of meat also in the US, was hit by these cyber attackers as they also had to part with some amount before they could get access to their systems back.
This prevalent attack has angered the US President leading to his reaction.
