After a ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline caused havoc for Americans as gas supplies dried up on parts of the East Coast, the Biden administration is targeting the hackers with a new task force and by urging Russia to act — just as operations are getting back to normal.
“We have been in direct communication with Moscow about the imperative for responsible countries to take decisive action against these ransomware networks,” Biden said Thursday.
COLONIAL PIPELINE BACK ONLINE AMID GAS SHORTAGE FOLLOWING CYBERATTACK
He clarified that the U.S. does not believe the attack was coordinated by the Russian government, “but we do have strong reason to believe that criminals who did the attack are living in Russia.”
Meanwhile, the Justice Department is moving forward with measures Biden said are designed to “disrupt their ability to operate” — including a new task force created recently dedicated to prosecuting ransomware hackers.
According to the Wall Street Journal, it will increase training and funnel more resources to identifying hackers while improving intelligence sharing and “links between criminal actors and nation-states.”
The force will also target the…