US vows to treat ramsomware attacks with greater urgency

Washington: Alarmed at repeated ramsomware attacks on the country, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and US Justice Department have announced treating such cyber incidents with greater urgency.

FBI director Christopher Wray on Saturday said that the Bureau has identified about 100 different types of ransomware, several of them being traced to Russia.

"There are a lot of parallels, there's a lot of importance, and a lot of focus by us on disruption and prevention. There's a shared responsibility, not just across government agencies but across the private sector and even the average American," said Wray to the WSJ.

Last week President Joe Biden responded that his administration was "looking closely" at the recent ransomware attacks on the country by Russia.

"We're looking closely at that issue," Biden told reporters at the White House when asked if the US would retaliate against Russia for the latest ransomware attack.

Major meat producer JBS USA said that it suffered a cyberattack and notified the administration that the ransom demand came from a criminal organisation likely based in Russia.

The latest ransomware attack came weeks after a similar cyberattack targeting Colonial Pipeline, which forced the company to shut down approximately 5,500 miles of fuel pipeline for days.

Senior Justice Department officials were quoted as saying in reports that ransomware attacks would be investigated in a manner similar to terror incidents.

Biden is also looking forward to raising the cybercrime issue in talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin when they meet in Geneva on June 16.

Meanwhile, Biden had signed an executive order for implementing new policies to improve national cybersecurity, last month.