Biden to Discuss Role of Crypto in G7 Ransomware Attacks, National Security Advisor Says

According to Joe Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, the President of the United States will speak directly to cryptocurrency regarding its role in the attack on the Colonial Pipeline and other ransomware breaches.

During a White House press briefing Monday, Sullivan said U.S. officials, including Biden, would like to see a plan of action on ransomware attacks during the president’s visit to the G7 summit this weekend. . The national security adviser said the plan should address the resilience of such attacks, how to share information with other democracies and “how to meet the challenge of cryptocurrency.”

Sullivan said crypto “sits at the heart of how these ransom transactions play out,” citing cyber attacks as a “national security priority” for the US government, especially for “critical infrastructure.” His remarks follow hackers who breached the network behind Colonial Pipeline in May, forcing the company to pay a ransom of $ 4.4 million.

“This needs to become a priority going forward,” Sullivan said, referring to the G7 addressing such ransomware attacks. He described the problem as “a different order of magnitude of a security threat that the alliance needs to be concerned with in a way that it has not historically done.”

President Biden has, in a personal capacity, largely kept silent on crypto and blockchain both as vice president under Barack Obama and in his election campaign. Last July, then candidate Biden mentionned he didn’t hold Bitcoin (BTC) in a Twitter update following a massive hack that took control of high-profile accounts and asked their followers to send crypto.

However, his administration is reportedly reviewing existing rules regarding crypto and determining whether further restrictions are needed to protect investors in the face of market volatility. Since hitting an all-time high of around $ 65,000 in April, Bitcoin has fallen more than 44% to $ 35,588 at the time of publication.

The G7 summit is scheduled to be held in the UK from June 11-13. It will be Biden’s first overseas trip as US president since taking office in January.