In A Useless Move, The G7 Calls On Russia And Others To Crack Down On Ransomware Gangs

In light of the recent wave of high-profile ransomware attacks that have caused havoc in the US and Europe, the member states of the G7 group have called on Russia and other countries to crack down on ransomware gangs operating within their borders:

“We call on all states to urgently identify and disrupt ransomware criminal networks operating from within their borders, and hold those networks accountable for their actions,” the G7 group said in a communique published on Sunday, at the end of a three-day conference held in Cornwall, UK. “In particular, we call on Russia […] to identify, disrupt, and hold to account those within its borders who conduct ransomware attacks, abuse virtual currency to launder ransoms, and other cybercrimes,” the G7 group added.

The joint statement was signed by the governments of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the US — more commonly known as the Group of Seven (G7). It comes after a series of ransomware attacks that caused disruptions at hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic, fuel outages on the US East Coast following the Colonial Pipeline attack, and beef supply issues across Australia and the US following the JBS Foods ransomware incident.

This isn’t going to happen. Russia, China, and others who shield these gangs aren’t going to do anything about these gangs simply by being asked nicely by the G7. This is state sanctioned activity. Which means you need to punish the states in question via sanctions and other means. Then and only then they might change how they treat ransomware gangs. So maybe the G7 should rethink this and come up with a plan that makes these states feel some real consequences.

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