President Joe Biden urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to exert his power and help stop ransomware cyberattacks emanating from his country in a phone call Friday morning.
At the White House, Biden told reporters he and Putin have a more open line of communication since the U.S.-Russia summit in June.
“I made it very clear to him that the United States expects when a ransomware operation is coming from his soil — even though it's not sponsored by the state — we expect him to act,” Biden said about the hour-long phone call. “And we've given him enough information to act on who that is.”
Biden described how he and Putin established a method to communicate more frequently “when each of us thinks something’s happening in the other country,” adding that he was “optimistic” about the interaction.
Ransomware attacks have been increasing over the past 18 months, said Press Secretary Jen Psaki.
Russia-based hackers rolled out a massive ransomware attack this week, finding a vulnerability in software company Kaseya’s code and attacking 800 to 1,500 small businesses, according to the Washington Post. Worldwide, Kaseya serves nearly a million small businesses.
While the Biden administration does not expect things to change overnight, the president stressed there would be consequences for Russian inaction after this conversation.
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“President Biden reiterated that the United States will take any necessary action to defend its people and its critical infrastructure in the face of this continuing challenge,” said a White House statement.
Senior White House officials would not say what actions the U.S. is considering to take against Russia but said, if necessary, it would happen in the coming weeks.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-California) criticized Biden's tone with Russia earlier this week in an interview with FOX News' Sean Hannity.
"What did they come away after Joe Biden threatened Putin? They hacked more companies in America, and what has Biden done?" McCarthy said.
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