$10 million rewards bolster White House anti-ransomware bid
Reward payments may include cryptocurrency
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The State Department will offer rewards of up to $10 million for information that helps authorities locate anyone engaged in malicious cyber activity against critical U.S. infrastructure.
The Biden administration has faced a number of ransomware attacks and direct hacks on critical systems, from the Solar Winds hack to the shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline. Both attacks were alleged to be the work of foreign individuals located possibly in Eastern Europe or Russia.
The White House has responded by announcing plans to establish a task force that will take action against known ransomware hackers, build protocols to stop cryptocurrency-based ransom payments, support resilience among key U.S. infrastructure firms and coordinate with allied nations taking similar actions.
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In an effort to bolster those efforts, the State Department has announced a Rewards for Justice program that includes a tips-reporting mechanism on the dark web to protect sources who might identify cyber attackers and/or their locations.
Reward payments may include cryptocurrency, the agency said.
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The White House updated lawmakers Wednesday on the administration’s response to the recent rash of high-profile ransomware attacks, a threat it has deemed a national security priority.
Sen. Angus King, an independent from Maine, said he was impressed with the "thoroughness with which they are confronting this issue," particularly with outreach to the private sector.
U.S. lawmakers have called for action in recent weeks following ransomware attacks on the Colonial Pipeline, a key East Coast fuel supplier, and JBS, one of the country’s largest meat suppliers. IT software vendor Kaseya was also targeted in a ransomware attack this month that impacted hundreds of companies.
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The hacks have raised concerns about the potential threat to critical components of U.S. infrastructure if the threat is not addressed. Russia-linked hackers were implicated in multiple recent attacks, prompting President Biden to warn Russian President Vladimir Putin to take action against the responsible groups.
Fox Business' Thomas Barrabi and The Associated Press contributed to this report.