WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden said Wednesday he is “looking” at possible retaliation after the White House linked Russia to a cyberattack against global meat processing giant JBS.
Asked by a reporter if he would take action against President Vladimir Putin, whom he will meet for a summit in Geneva later this month, Biden said: “We’re looking closely at that issue.”
The ransomware attack on a US subsidiary of Brazilian-owned JBS has again prompted accusations that Russia is at least harboring cybercriminals.
Similar suspicions were raised after ransomware hackers forced the temporary shutdown of the huge Colonial fuel pipeline in the eastern United States last month.
Asked if Putin is testing him ahead of their summit, Biden said “no.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday attributed the attack to “REvil and Sodinokibi,” which experts have said are two names for the same hacking group with ties to Russia, and said it was “working diligently to bring the threat actors to justice.”
“We continue to focus our efforts on imposing risk and consequences and holding the responsible cyber actors accountable,” the FBI said in a statement.
The White House says Biden will bring up US concerns during the summit on June 16, as well as at earlier summits with allies in the G7 group, the European Union and NATO.
“We expect this to be an issue of discussion throughout the president’s trip,” Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters.
“Harboring criminal entities that are intending to do harm, that are doing harm to the critical infrastructure in the United States, is not acceptable,” she said.
“We’re not going to stand by that. We will raise that and we’re not going to take options off the table.”
The White House has not blamed the Kremlin directly, only suggesting that criminal groups are operating from inside Russia. However, Psaki said “responsible states do not harbor” cybercriminals.
“President Biden certainly thinks that President Putin and the Russian government has a role to play in stopping and preventing these attacks. Hence, it will be a topic of discussion when they meet,” she said.
For its part, Russia said Wednesday it would be open to any US request for help in investigating the cyberattack.
JBS is a sprawling meat supplier with operations in the United States, Australia, Canada, Europe, Mexico, New Zealand and Britain.
The company said the vast majority of its beef, pork, poultry and prepared foods plants would be operating “at near full capacity” on Thursday.
JBS “is not aware of any evidence at this time that any customer, supplier or employee data has been compromised,” it said in a statement late Wednesday.
“Given the progress our teams have made to address this situation, we anticipate operating at close to full capacity across our global operations tomorrow (Thursday),” said JBS USA CEO Andre Nogueira.
Biden says ‘looking’ at Russia retaliation over JBS cyberattack
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Biden says ‘looking’ at Russia retaliation over JBS cyberattack
- A ransomware attack on a US subsidiary of Brazilian-owned JBS has again prompted accusations that Russia is at least harboring cybercriminals
Bomb attacks on Thailand petrol stations injure 4: army
- Authorities did not announce any arrests or say who may be behind the attacks
BANGKOK: Assailants detonated bombs at nearly a dozen petrol stations in Thailand’s south early Sunday, injuring four people, the army said, the latest attacks in the insurgency-hit region.
A low-level conflict since 2004 has killed thousands of people as rebels in the Muslim-majority region bordering Malaysia battle for greater autonomy.
Several bombs exploded within a 40-minute period after midnight on Sunday, igniting 11 petrol stations across Thailand’s southernmost provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala, an army statement said.
Authorities did not announce any arrests or say who may be behind the attacks.
“It happened almost at the same time. A group of an unknown number of men came and detonated bombs which damaged fuel pumps,” Narathiwat Governor Boonchauy Homyamyen told local media, adding that one police officer was injured in the province.
A firefighter and two petrol station employees were injured in Pattani province, the army said.
All four were admitted to hospitals, none with serious injuries, a Thai army spokesman told AFP.
Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters that security agencies believed the attacks were a “signal” timed with elections for local administrators taking place on Sunday, and “not aimed at insurgency.”
The army’s commander in the south, Narathip Phoynok, told reporters he ordered security measures raised to the “maximum level in all areas” including at road checkpoints and borders.
The nation’s deep south is culturally distinct from the rest of Buddhist-majority Thailand, which took control of the region more than a century ago.
The area is heavily policed by Thai security forces — the usual targets of insurgent attacks.
