Biden, Putin conduct diplomatic dance over hypothetical hacker exchange

The two world leaders are scheduled to meet on Wednesday amid a spate of ransomware attacks.

A discussion over an exchange of accused hackers from Russia and the U.S. could be on the agenda this week when President Joe Biden meets with his Russian counterpart on the shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland.

Vladimir Putin, in an interview with Russian state media Sunday, said his government would consider the possibility of extraditing accused hackers from Russia to America under the condition that the U.S. would do the same. During a news conference at a Group of Seven (G7) summit, Biden said he would be “open” to the idea of holding accused hackers in the U.S. accountable for violating the law.

The two world leaders are scheduled to meet on Wednesday amid a spate of high profile ransomware attacks in which alleged Russian-based hacking gangs disrupted operations at Colonial Pipeline, a U.S. fuel carrier, and the meat processing firm JBS.

“If there’s crimes committed against Russia that, in fact, are — and the people committing those crimes are being harbored in the United States — I’m committed to holding them accountable,” Biden said. “I think that’s — that’s potentially a good sign and progress.”

National security advisor Jake Sullivan later clarified to reporters that the White House has no intention of “exchanging cybercriminals with Russia,” as quoted by NBC News.

“What he was saying was that if Vladimir Putin wants to come and say, ‘I’m prepared to make sure that cybercriminals are held accountable,’ Joe Biden is perfectly willing to show up and say cybercriminals will be held accountable in America, because they already are,” said Sullivan.

The U.S. and Russia do not have an extradition treaty. This diplomatic dance between Biden and Putin comes after U.S. law enforcement officials have for years sought to arrest alleged Russian hackers when they leave the country. In numerous cases, the FBI has worked with authorities in countries like Thailand, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and elsewhere to apprehend suspects during their vacations or while on extended stays outside the Kremlin’s jurisdiction.

Leaders at the G7 summit also called on Russia to “stop its destabilising behaviour and malign activities” by taking action against groups that use cyberattacks and ransomware within its borders.

Government

• FBI officials say AI is bolstering adversaries, emphasizing need to focus on cyber basics, patching

• Feds accuse China of ‘systematic’ distillation of U.S. AI models

• CIA’s Michael Ellis says cyber intelligence is changing how the agency operates

• The G7 tells industry to hurry up and prep for post-quantum encryption

Technology

• European parliament members call for slowdown of Serbia’s EU entry over spyware use

• FCC proposes public scorecard to rate telecoms on anti-robocall efforts

• Pegasus, NoviSpy variant spyware found on devices of Serbian activists

• Wyden seeks upgraded NSA security guidance on commercial VPN use

Threats

• Chinese espionage groups swarm to exploit triple-link chain of zero-days

• Microsoft discloses two actively exploited zero-days among 974 vulnerabilities

• Attackers exploit zero-days in consistently besieged SonicWall product

• Jail time for Maine child in 764 marks turning point in federal law enforcement

Policy

• Whistleblower says USPS deploying new, ‘untested’ IT systems governing mail-in ballots

• ‘Watershed 250’ test program in Texas looks to private sector for water cybersecurity help

• Former sexual abuse victims say Grok used their images, videos to train deepfake capabilities

• Cyber threats nudge Trump to sign executive order on foreign equipment in U.S. energy infrastructure