U.S. and Foreign Cyber Officials on Combating Ransomware

Deputy National Security Adviser for Cyber and Emerging Technologies Anne Neuberger joined other cyber officials from Singapore and Nigeria to discuss combating ransomware. This event followed a White House summit for members of the International Counter Ransomware Initiative (CRI)--the largest cyber partnership in the world, consisting of 48 countries, the European Union, and Interpol. Ms. Neuberger highlighted the summit’s collective statement that member-governments will not pay ransoms and also underscored the importance of addressing this issue, noting that worldwide ransomware attacks grew by 45% in the first half of 2023. Moreover, Singaporean cyber official David Koh noted that ransomware criminal networks were operating like normal businesses, with portions of ransom payments being invested into their own research and development. close