US officials tell businesses to watch for potential ransomware attacks after Biden announces Russia sanctions
CNN
Minutes after President Joe Biden announced new sanctions on Russian banks and elites on Tuesday, a senior FBI cyber official asked US businesses and local governments to be mindful of the potential for ransomware attacks as the crisis between the Kremlin and Ukraine deepens.
Russia is a "permissive operating environment" for cybercriminals -- one that "is not going to get any smaller" as Russia's confrontation with the West over Ukraine continues and further sanctions are announced, the FBI's David Ring said on a phone briefing with private executives and state and local officials, according to two people who were on the call.
Ring asked state and local officials and business executives to consider how ransomware attacks could disrupt the provision of critical services, the people on the call said.
Elected officials, Jewish advocacy groups and civil rights leaders are vowing to “push back” against the message of a White nationalist group that staged a march last week near downtown Columbus, Ohio, calling the demonstration an act of hate unwelcome in their community – and the United States more broadly.
Senate Democrats have confirmed some of President Joe Biden’s picks for the federal bench this week in the face of President-elect Donald Trump’s calls for a total GOP blockade of judicial nominations – in part because several Republicans involved with the Trump transition process have been missing votes.