Jul 10 ,2021: President Joe Biden warned Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday that the United States will “take any necessary action” to defend critical American infrastructure following a massive ransomware attack by suspected Russian cybercriminals.
The proliferation of ransomware attacks is heaping tension on an already spiraling relationship between Washington and Moscow. From Putin’s invasion of Ukraine to a face-off over American citizens detained in Russia, ties between the two countries are largely in tatters.
The ambiguity involved in the latest ransomware attacks has not helped diplomacy. The Biden administration is uncertain if the culprits are controlled by the Kremlin, yet it insists Putin is responsible for stopping the strikes if they are carried out on his soil.
In a call on Friday, Biden spoke with Putin “about the ongoing ransomware attacks by criminals based in Russia that have impacted the United States and other countries around the world,” according to a readout provided by the White House.
The president described the call with Putin following an executive order signing at the White House.
“I made it very clear to [Putin] that the United States expects when a ransomware operation is coming from his soil, even though it’s not — not — sponsored by the state, we expect them to act if we give them enough information to act on who that is,” Biden said.
But by declining to publicly detail which retaliatory actions — if any — are in the works or under consideration, the administration is likely to add to concerns in Washington, D.C., that the U.S. is not taking a strong enough approach toward the Kremlin and could spur criticism from the president’s Republican critics in Congress.
Before boarding Air Force One later in the day, Biden was asked whether it makes sense to attack the servers used in ransomware strikes. “Up until now, the U.S. response has been to exercise sanctions, impose sanctions for this malign activity. Does it make sense for the U.S. to kick it up a notch and attack the actual servers that are used?” a reporter asked.
“Yes,” Biden replied.
A senior administration official later said the White House would not be telegraphing the specifics of any planned retaliation.
“Some of [the actions] will be manifest and visible. Some of them may not be. But we expect those to take place in the days and weeks ahead,” the official said in a call with reporters.
Biden also said his administration and Putin’s government had “set up a means of communication now on a regular basis — to be able to communicate with one another when each of us thinks something is happening in another country that affects the home country.”
“It went well. I’m optimistic,” Biden added. But when asked whether there would be consequences for Russia, the president replied simply: “Yes.”
The senior administration official also indicated that Biden wants to give Putin time to live up to American demands.
