The largest ransomware attack of 2021 has further fueled a debate among policymakers, cybersecurity experts and corporate leaders over whether, as part of an effort to counter the growing cyber threat, businesses should be barred from paying off cybercriminals.
Businesses and other organizations caught in sophisticated hackers’ crosshairs typically must choose whether to reward criminals for their malicious work in return for regaining control of their computer networks, or to refuse to pay at the cost of losing irreplaceable data and the ability to resume operations.
With pressure growing on the administration to find ways to contain the threat, President Joe Biden met with top national security officials and experts Wednesday to discuss new tactics and policies.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki later told reporters that the officials provided Biden with “an update on their ongoing work: surge capacity, resilience and reporting, addressing payment systems, and our ongoing efforts to combat ransomware.” She added that the president “reserves the right to respond against any ransomware networks and those that harbor them.”
The attack over the July 4 holiday weekend targeted U.S.-based software supplier Kaseya and more than 1,000 of its customers worldwide. It followed a spate of similar intrusions…
