New global initiatives will include information sharing, ransomware payment tracking

White House officials announced Tuesday that when a global coalition of government cybersecurity leaders meets in Washington next week, they will announce efforts to increase information sharing on digital threats and tackle nefarious cryptocurrency payments.

The Biden administration will invite officials from 50 countries to the International Counter-Ransomware Initiative (CRI) next week, and participants are expected to present a number of “deliverables,” according to the National Security Agency for Cyber ​​and Emerging Technologies. Deputy Chief of Staff Ann Neuberger said at a press conference. Washington Council on Foreign Relations event.

Recorded Future News first reported last month that the White House is expected to urge participating governments to issue a joint policy pledge committing not to pay ransoms to cybercriminals.

“We’re not there yet, because when you get 50 countries together, it’s up to the last high-wire moment,” Neuberger said.

“Currently, there is no global norm on ‘should you pay a ransom during a cyberattack?'” she added. “And what we’re saying is, ideally, we could bring this into a United Nations process for new norms, or we could start establishing those norms within a more purposeful international partnership. I think that means we can try to work towards… We have a very diverse membership, so we’ve found that it’s going to take a lot of negotiation to get there.”

In addition to the pledge, Lithuania and Israel will announce the creation of an “information sharing platform that will allow countries to work together to quickly share information after major incidents,” Neuberger said.

“Our goal is to make sure you can’t redo attacks over and over again.”

Participants also plan to roll out new measures to break the veil of transparency in cryptocurrencies.

“To date, we have never shared information about wallets on the blockchain or fraudulent wallets moving fraudulent ransomware-related funds,” Neuberger said. “The data will be shared with treasuries around the world, with the hope that it will be used with confidence by countries that do so.” Asset service providers can block it. ”

Martin Matysiak

Martin Matishak is a senior cybersecurity reporter at The Record. He spent the past five years at Politico, covering Congress, the Pentagon and the U.S. intelligence community, and was the driving force behind the publication’s cybersecurity newsletter.