The White House has issued a rare open letter to companies calling on them to treat the threat of ransomware attacks with greater urgency, following back-to-back attacks by Russian hackers on key oil and food processing companies.
In a memo sent out Thursday morning, the National Security Council’s top cyber official, Anne Neuberger, writes to corporate executives and business leaders that the private sector needs to better understand its critical role.
“All organizations must recognize that no company is safe from being targeted by ransomware, regardless of size or location,” Neuberger writes. “We urge you to take ransomware crime seriously and ensure your corporate cyber defense match the threat.”
The letter comes after JBS Foods, the world’s largest meat supplier, reported that it was hit by a cyberattack that the FBI has attributed to hackers believed to be in Russia, resulting in significant parts of its production to be shut down. The company said late Wednesday it expected to be operating near full capacity by Thursday.
A White House official said Neuberger’s letter was prompted by a spike in ransomware attacks and “a very concerning shift from data theft to disrupting critical services.”
“The most important takeaway from the recent spate of ransomware attacks on US, Irish, German and other organizations around the world is that companies that view ransomware as a threat to their core business operations rather than a simple…
