White House hosts 2nd intآ’l ransomware summit

WASHINGTON, Nov 2 (KUNA) -- The White House hosted the International Counter Ransomware Initiative (CRI), made up of 36 countries and the EU on Monday and Tuesday for their second summit.
The White House said in a fact sheet on Tuesday evening that throughout the Summit, "CRI and private sector partners discussed and developed (plans for) concrete, cooperative actions to counter the spread and impact of ransomware around the globe." Stakeholders jointly re-affirmed commitment "to building our collective resilience to ransomware, cooperating to disrupt ransomware and pursue the actors responsible, countering illicit finance that underpins the ransomware ecosystem, working with the private sector to defend against ransomware attacks and continuing to cooperate internationally across all elements of the ransomware threat." "CRI members are building a network of trusted partners to share and disseminate ransomware-related threat information to increase our collective resilience to ransomware attacks," the joint statement added.
It continued to that end, the CRI will "establish a voluntary International Counter Ransomware Task Force (ICRTF) to develop cross-sectoral tools and cyber threat intelligence exchange to increase early warning capabilities and prevent attacks, as well as consolidate policy and best practice frameworks." It affirmed that "diplomatic engagement continues to be an essential tool for the international communityآ’s fight against ransomware attacks." "We are committed to continuing to work together not only as the CRI, but also with other partners committed to fighting the scourge of ransomware, which has the power to impact us all," it added.
For its part, the White House said in the fact sheet that the CRI Summit is a "cornerstone of the Biden-Harris Administrationآ’s efforts to disrupt ransomware attacks and a core part of our international cybersecurity agenda." It affirmed that "while the United States has made concerted efforts under our own national authorities and capabilities to fight the scourge of ransomware, it is a challenge that knows no borders." "Through this Initiative, the Administration is taking concrete actions with our international partners to protect our citizens and businesses from cyber criminals," it said. (end) si.rk