Diplomacy
US and Russia want to talk about cybersecurity
Russian President Vladimir Putin (l) and US President Joe Biden shake hands during their meeting at “Villa la Grange”. Photo: Patrick Semansky / AP / dpa
Are Russian hackers targeting government agencies and companies in the US? The accusations weigh heavily. Now Putin and Biden agree on a joint approach to cybercrime.
In the face of high tensions over alleged Russian hacking attacks on American government agencies and companies, the US and Russia want to start talks on cybersecurity.
US President Joe Biden said Wednesday after a meeting with Russian Leader Vladimir Putin in Geneva that the two had agreed that their governments would begin consultations on the issue. It should be about addressing specific cases and defining goals that should be taboo for attacks.
Biden said that some critical infrastructure, for example, must be exempted. He also appealed again, responsible states must take action against authors of ransomware attacks.
The US blames Russian intelligence services for a massive hacker attack on ministries, authorities and companies in the US. Moscow had denied the allegations and offered to clarify allegations and cooperate on cybersecurity. Putin also repeatedly complained about cyberattacks against Russian agencies.
Speaking at a separate press conference in Geneva on Wednesday, Putin said the planned cybersecurity talks were”very important.” At the same time, he again rejected the accusations of the United States and countered instead. “You just have to discard all insinuations, sit down at the expert level and start working in the interests of the United States and Russia,” Putin said. He also complained that Russia was the target of attacks “from the cyberspace of the USA”, in particular on the Russian health system.
Alleged Russian hackers had gained access to the much-used maintenance software of the company SolarWinds in the USA. The case became known in December. The attack had gone undetected for months and was an embarrassing setback for US security services. According to US data, the attack gave Russia the opportunity to spy on or disrupt more than 16,000 computer systems worldwide. Russia rejects this.
The US also sees the increase in ransomware attacks as a major problem. Data on computers is encrypted by hackers and usually only released for ransom. The US government does not blame Moscow for this, but criminals in Russia-and sees the Russian government as having a duty to take action against the hackers.
