In a telephonic conversation on Friday with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, US President Joe Biden addressed the cyberattacks which were allegedly carried out by groups based in Russia.

Biden urged the Russian President to “take action” against such attacks and the United States continues to have the right to “defend its people”, according to US media reports quoting the White House.

The White House said, “President Biden underscored the need for Russia to take action to disrupt ransomware groups operating in Russia” and further warned that the United States is ready to take “any necessary action” deemed necessary, according to reports from Associated Press. 

President Biden underscored the need for Russia to take action to disrupt ransomware groups operating in Russia and emphasized that he is committed to continued engagement on the broader threat posed by ransomware, the White House announced on Friday according to AFP.

The recurrence of such ransomware attacks on the United States has increased manyfold in the last year, with reports from the Federal Bureau of Investigation hinting involvement of Russia-based groups in most cases.

Due to this, the issue was one of the primary talking points in last month’s meeting between Biden and Putin in Geneva. This was also the first time the two political leaders had spoken in person since Biden took office in January 2021.

The most recent ransomware attacks targeting United States-based organisations include the Colonial Pipeline attack in early May this year, the attack on meat-producing company JBS and the SolarWinds attack.

However, the most recent one put information technology company Kaseya in the crosshairs. The attackers, who impacted more than 1,000 companies in the United States just days before the country celebrated its Independence Day on July 4, demanded $70 million ransom, in the form of Bitcoin, in exchange for the stolen data from the United States, according to reports from AFP.