This week, the White House will convene an international conference in Washington to discuss the rise in “Ransomware” assaults.

The conference will cover various cybercrimes, including ransomware assaults, as well as the cryptocurrencies that enable them. The meeting’s objective, according to the White House, is to create a global standard for resolving these issues.

The development of defenses against or disruption of these attacks, as well as “holding malevolent actors accountable,” are major items on the agenda. This second point is extremely important since states that are hostile to the international system frequently house ransomware perpetrators.

A Global Participants

This gathering will act as an official continuation of the Counter-Ransomware Initiative, which was conducted online the previous year. Seven additional nations have joined the 30 that took part in the initial summit from the previous year.

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North Korea, Russia, and Belarus stand out as notable exceptions since they are thought to help and harbor ransomware attackers. In addition, for the first time, attendees at this gathering will also include officials from top tech companies like Microsoft, SAP, and Siemens.

Moreover, several of the administration’s top representatives will attend the meeting, according to the White House. Among them will be the deputy cabinet members Wally Adeyemo, the deputy secretary of the Treasury, and Wendy Sherman, the deputy secretary of state.

Important security officials including Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, and FBI Director Chris Wray will also participate.

Attackers Using Ransomware 

The increasing number of attacks worldwide has highlighted the need for a coordinated effort to combat ransomware threats. The White House reports over the previous 1.5 years, 4,000 assaults outside of the US. According to Chainalysis data, ransom payments in cryptocurrencies increased from the previous year to over $600 million in 2021.

Data belonging to individuals or corporations is encrypted by ransomware attackers using specialized software. Victims must pay a ransom to the attackers, who typically prefer payments made in Bitcoin, in order to get the data release. 

The business of ransomware has grown to be so lucrative that the best-known software companies now even provide customer support for their goods.