Countries reveal their cyber extortion problems at US-led summit

A digital “catastrophe” in Germany, increasing attacks on United Arab Emirates (UAE), or an ongoing offensive in Israel: the countries revealed their struggles against cyber extortionists on Wednesday in a virtual summit against the cyber crime hosted by Washington.

USA It has invited some 30 countries – with the notable exception of Russia – to enhance cooperation in the face of these costly and disruptive attacks that are multiplying around the world.

From the outset, Yigal Unna, head of Israel’s National Cyber ​​Directorate, reported on the latest incident.

“I can now reveal that Israel is experiencing, as we speak, a powerful cyberattack for extortion purposes against one of its main hospitals,” he said.

According to the experiences raised in the forum, the threat is painful, widespread and growing.

Germany recalled that this summer, for the first time, a local government in the Anhalt-Bitterfeld district in the east declared a state of “cyber disaster” after being hit by an extortionate cyber attack.

The United States has also been the victim, especially in the first half of 2021, of numerous extortionate cyberattacks against businesses.

Those attacks involve the violation of an entity’s networks to encrypt its data, and then the request for a ransom, usually payable in cryptocurrencies, in exchange for the key to decrypt it.

“We are talking about an increase of about 70% in one year in South Korea, 200% in the UAE,” said Anne Neuberger, Assistant National Security Advisor for US Cyberspace.

Attacks on hospitals in Ireland and the Czech Republic, as well as severe disruptions to maritime infrastructure in South Africa were among the experiences narrated.

Russia was not invited

Britain, Australia, India, Japan, France, Germany, South Korea, the European Union, Israel, Kenya, Mexico and others joined the summit that began on Wednesday and will continue on Thursday.

“No country, no group can solve that problem on its own,” warned Jake Sullivan, the White House National Security Advisor.

“Our governments may have different approaches regarding the tools” used “to combat cyber extortion,” but “we recognize the urgency of the threat,” he declared.

He particularly praised the active participation of Australia, Germany, India and Great Britain in the preparation of the meeting.

These countries have organized workshops that will take place on Wednesdays and Thursdays around four themes: creating resilience in the face of extortion attempts, the role of cryptocurrencies in laundering ransom money, prosecution and diplomacy.

On the absence of Russia, an important White House official pointed out that “in this first round of discussions we did not invite the Russians to participate.”

The source said that Washington and Moscow have established a “separate channel” of communication on the subject.

Although Moscow denies any responsibility, most of the recent extortion attacks against the United States have been blamed on hacker groups operating in Russia or on Russian soil.

US President Joe Biden spoke with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in July, asking him to “take action” against cyber extortionist groups operating in Russia.

“We have seen that the Russian government has taken some steps and we hope that action will follow,” said the White House official.