Ransomware remains one of the most disruptive cyber threats to governments, organizations, and individuals. This global problem requires a global solution. While ransomware attacks are growing in numbers and complexity, and ransom payments are rising, resilience and disruption efforts are not accelerating at the same pace.

Although the federal government is stepping up to do its part by working with like-minded nations to deter ransomware actors, they cannot do it alone. The private sector also has a critical responsibility, and it is important to engage with them early to protect against these threats.

As part of this engagement and as part of the Counter Ransomware Initiative, the White House hosted a two-day summit to increase global and private sector cooperation around resilience against ransomware attacks. The Cybersecurity Coalition was among the 13 private sector organizations invited to participate, along with 37 foreign governments. 

Out of the summit came a series of recommendations promoted by the Institute for Security and Technology (IST), including:

• Promoting cybersecurity risk management frameworks like the Ransomware Profile under the Cybersecurity Framework and the IST Ransomware Blueprint for small and medium sized organizations.
• Disrupting ransomware networks.
• Developing cohesive and consistent policies towards ransom payments.

The Cybersecurity Coalition and its member companies have a history of working closely with many of the governments and industry participants in the Counter Ransomware Initiative. We look forward to advancing these recommendations in partnership with these governments.

‍