 "Ransomware, WannaCry virus, WannaCry, Ransomware attack")
International cooperation is key to deal with the challenge of ransomware, a top US official said on Wednesday as he described countries like India, Australia, the UK and Germany as central and indispensable to organising a global meet of 30 nations on the issue.
"We view international cooperation as foundational to our collective ability to deal with the ransomware ecosystem, to hold criminals and the states that harbor them accountable, and to reduce the threat to our citizens in each of our countries," US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in his address to the White House Facilitated Counter Ransomware Initiative meeting.
Being held virtually, the two-day meeting that kicked off Wednesday is being attended by participants from as many as 30 countries.
According to experts, ransomware is one of the key cybersecurity threats of 2021.
"Our governments may have different approaches with respect to the tools we believe are best to counter ransomware everything from how to secure our networks, to leverage diplomatic tools, and even the most effective ways to counter illicit finance," Sullivan said.
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"But your participation underscores that our governments are very much like-minded in one important respect: we recognise the urgency of the ransomware threat, the need to protect our citizens and businesses from it, and the criticality of international cooperation to counter it, he said.
"Many of your governments have been central, indispensable to organising this meeting, including in leading the panels under which will carry out work over the coming days. I want to thank India, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Germany in particular for organising those panels, Sullivan said.
Ransomware incidents, he said, have disrupted critical services and businesses worldwide from schools to banks to government offices to emergency services to hospitals, to energy companies, to transportation and food companies all of these have been affected.
"And we have seen from these incidents that organisations of all sizes are targets, regardless of where they are located from the largest companies to small businesses that are just trying to support a family or small community, he said, adding that President Joe Biden has prioritised countering this threat.
US Government agencies, he said, are pursuing an integrated effort to disrupt the ransomware ecosystem.
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