Why US is so powerless against suspected Russian ransomware hackers
- The US is believed to have the best offensive cyber capabilities in the world, but it faces numerous hurdles to going after ransomware gangs
- Foreign hackers can move around, do not need much infrastructure to operate and can shield their identities
Foreign keyboard criminals with scant fear of repercussions have paralysed US schools and hospitals, leaked highly sensitive police files, triggered fuel shortages and, most recently, threatened global food supply chains.
The answer is that there are numerous technological, legal and diplomatic hurdles to going after ransomware gangs. Until recently, it just hasn’t been a high priority for the US government.
The Biden administration has also promised to boost defences against attacks, improve efforts to prosecute those responsible and build diplomatic alliances to pressure countries that harbour ransomware gangs.
Calls are growing for the administration to direct US intelligence agencies and the military to attack ransomware gangs’ technical infrastructure used for hacking, posting sensitive victim data on the dark web and storing digital currency payouts.