Nandita Bhose

WASHINGTON (Reuters] – Russia did not receive invitations to a United States virtual meeting that brought together 30 nations. It is aimed at combatting the rising threat of ransomware, among other cyber crimes.

According to private sector cybersecurity experts, many ransomware groups operate out of Russia and Ukraine. Some U.S. analysts and officials have indicated that Russian ransomware-gangs are operating with the Kremlin’s tacit support, but not under the direct control of the government.

According to an administration official, the meeting will last two days and feature six sessions. Topics include addressing ransomware misuse, prosecution of ransomware criminals and diplomacy in countering ransomware.

Four countries, including Australia, Germany, India and Australia, will be participating in discussions about topics like disruption, virtual currencies and diplomacy. Canada, France (the United Kingdom), Brazil, Mexico and Ukraine will be joining the discussion.

According to a senior administration official, “We have been having open discussions with Russia, but they were not invited in this specific forum,” adding that Russia can still participate in future events.

According to the official, the United States is engaged directly with Russia regarding ransomware issues under the USKremlinExpertsGroup. This group was established by President Joe Biden as well as Russian President Vladimir Putin.

According to the official, talks with Russia continue. The U.S. shared details about specific Russian criminals and the country took initial steps in order to resolve the concerns.

Following a string of attacks in the United States this year which threatened to disrupt U.S. food and energy supplies, President Joe Biden elevated cybersecurity response to senior levels.

When hackers targeted Colonial Pipeline’s pipeline, they caused disruptions to the east coast of the United States.

Biden hopes their informal group called the Counter-Ransomware Initiative by the Biden administration will help them in their diplomatic push. They have previously had direct talks with Russia and also the NATO alliance as well as Group of Seven wealth nations.