Hillicon Valley: Biden steps up pressure on Russia to go after cyber criminals | All JBS facilities up and running after ransomware attack | Justice Dept. gives ransomware same priority as terrorism

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The Biden administration is taking more steps to confront Russia and other nations harboring malicious hackers following increasing ransomware attacks. These include the attack on JBS USA, and the company announced Thursday that all U.S. facilities are back up and running, while the White House outlined how the private sector can protect itself against future attacks, and the Justice Department elevated the priority level of ransomware investigations.

PUTIN UNDER PRESSURE: The ransomware attacks on meatpacker JBS and Colonial Pipeline are prompting the Biden administration to confront nations such as Russia and China on harboring hackers who cause major disruptions overseas.

The back-to-back attacks from groups based in Russia are raising the stakes for this month’s summit between President Biden and Russian President Vladimir PutinVladimir Vladimirovich PutinHillicon Valley: Biden steps up pressure on Russia to go after cyber criminals | All JBS facilities up and running after ransomware attack | Justice Dept. gives ransomware same priority as terrorism All global JBS facilities up and running following ransomware attack Crenshaw trolled after asking for examples of ‘woke ideology’ in military MORE, the first face-to-face meeting for the two leaders since Biden took office.

Raising expectations: “This will certainly be a topic of discussion, that harboring criminal entities that are intending to do harm, that are doing harm to the critical infrastructure in the United States, is not acceptable,” White House press secretary Jen PsakiJen PsakiManchin isn’t ready to support Democrats passing infrastructure on their own Hillicon Valley: Biden steps up pressure on Russia to go after cyber criminals | All JBS facilities up and running after ransomware attack | Justice Dept. gives ransomware same priority as terrorism Maloney grills Colonial Pipeline on decision to pay ransom to hackers MORE told reporters at the White House on Wednesday. “We are not going to stand by that, we will raise that, and we are not going to take options off the table.”

She stressed that the administration had raised concerns over the multiple Russian-linked attacks on U.S. critical organizations with Moscow and that protecting critical infrastructure was “of the utmost national security importance.”

“We believe that responsible states do not harbor ransomware criminals,” Psaki said.

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JUSTICE FOR ALL: The Justice Department announced this week that it will begin elevating ransomware investigations to a similar level of priority as terrorist attacks.

John Carlin, the acting deputy attorney general at the Justice Department, told Reuters on Thursday that the federal government will prioritize ransomware cases through a new process.

“It’s a specialized process to ensure we track all ransomware cases regardless of where it may be referred in this country, so you can make the connections between actors and work your way up to disrupt the whole chain,” he said.

Read more here.

PRIVATE SECTOR UNDER PRESSURE: The White House has sent out recommendations to the private sector over how to protect themselves from cyber intrusions after a series of attacks left companies and government agencies vulnerable.

Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology Anne Neuberger in a memo obtained by The Hill sounded the alarm over recent high-profile attacks against places like Colonial Pipeline and SolarWinds and said the private sector must recognize the dire threat that hacks pose to its companies.

“All organizations must recognize that no company is safe from being targeted by ransomware, regardless of size or location,” she wrote. “Much as our homes have locks and alarm systems and our office buildings have guards and security to meet the threat of theft, we urge you to take ransomware crime seriously and ensure your corporate cyber defenses match the threat.”

Read more here.

QUESTIONS, CONCERNS: House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Carolyn MaloneyCarolyn MaloneyHillicon Valley: Biden steps up pressure on Russia to go after cyber criminals | All JBS facilities up and running after ransomware attack | Justice Dept. gives ransomware same priority as terrorism Maloney grills Colonial Pipeline on decision to pay ransom to hackers Hillicon Valley: DC attorney general files antitrust lawsuit against Amazon | DHS to require pipeline companies to report cyberattacks | Activists, parents urge Facebook to drop Instagram for kids plan MORE (D-N.Y.) on Thursday grilled Colonial Pipeline and insurance group CNA Financial Corporation for their recent decisions to pay hackers in order to regain access to their networks following ransomware attacks.

Maloney requested documents from both companies on the payments, with Colonial choosing to pay likely Russian hackers the equivalent of $4.4 million in Bitcoin last month to restart their pipeline, which provides around 45 percent of the East Coast’s fuel.

Bloomberg also reported last month that CNA, one of the largest insurance providers in the nation, paid hackers $40 million in late March after being hit by a ransomware attack.

Maloney wrote to the leaders of both companies Thursday that she was “troubled” by the choice to pay the hackers, and that more information on the decisions was needed.

Read more here.

LABEL WOES: A new study published this week by liberal media watchdog Media Matters for America found that Facebook’s misinformation labels may have actually helped to amplify former President TrumpDonald TrumpFacebook to end policy shielding politicians from content moderation rules: reports US government found no evidence that Navy UFO sightings were alien spacecraft: report More than a dozen police officers still on medical leave from Jan. 6 injuries MORE’s content.

According to Media Matters, the posts from Trump between January 2020 to 2021 that were labeled as containing misinformation by Facebook received more than twice the amount of interactions compared to his overall posts. The labeled posts received around 407,000 interactions on average, while his posts overall received an average of 152,000 interactions in comparison.

A representative for Facebook shot back at MMFA’s characterization, pointing out that the media watchdog had not provided evidence to show that the labels directly caused the posts to become more popular.