Then and now

White House priorities changed

WASHINGTON – The White House’s formal accusation Tuesday that North Korea was behind the WannaCry ransomware attack demonstrates that there’s no one-size-fits-all response to cyberattacks.

For North Korea, the White House gave an unambiguous statement of culpability Tuesday: “After careful investigation, the United States is publicly attributing the massive WannaCry cyberattack to North Korea. We do not make this allegation lightly. We do so with evidence, and we do so with partners,” White House Homeland Security Adviser Tom Bossert said.

The consequences of that attack will be little more than public shaming, Bossert said Tuesday. “It’s not about holding a country accountable. It’s about simple culpability,” Bossert said.

Contrast that with how Trump has reacted to the intelligence agencies’ assessment that Russia coordinated hacks on email accounts of Democratic campaign officials last year. Trump said he agrees with the intelligence community’s attribution of election meddling but has shied from taking Moscow to task.

Bossert suggested that actions speak louder than words when it comes to Russia.

“I think we’re leading to take bad actors — whether they be Russia, North Korea, at times China and Iran — off the Internet. ... And I think today is about North Korea, but I welcome the question on Russia.”

Bossert said additional sanctions for North Korea were unlikely.

“At this point, North Korea has done everything wrong as an actor on the global stage that a country can do,” he said.

The cyberattacks began last May, freezing Windows computers and demanding $300 or more from users to unlock them.