US calls cyber crime talks without Russia

MEETING AIMS AT COMBATING THE RANSOMWARE THREAT

Russia was not invited to attend a 30-country virtual meeting led by the United States that is aimed at combating the growing threat of ransomware and other cyber crime, a senior administration official said.

Many ransomware gangs operate from Ukraine and Russia, private sector cybersecurity experts say. Some US officials and analysts have said Russian ransomware gangs operate with the Kremlin’s tacit approval, but are not directly controlled by the government.

The meeting will be held over two days, involve six sessions and include topics such as addressing the misuse of virtual currency to launder ransom payments, prosecuting ransomware criminals, using diplomacy to counter ransomware, and helping nations become more resilient to such attacks, the administration official said.

Along with the US, four countries including India, Australia, Germany and the United Kingdom will lead discussions on topics such as disruption, virtual currency and diplomacy. Others joining the meeting include Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Mexico, Japan, Ukraine, Ireland, Israel, South Africa, the EU.

“We are having active discussions with the Russians, but in this particular forum they were not invited to participate,” the senior administration official said, adding this does not preclude Russia from participating in future events.

The official said the US engages directly with Russia on the issue of ransomware under the US-Kremlin Experts Group, which is led by the White House and has been established by President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin.