The US State Department is set to establish a cyber bureau after the country experienced a surge of cyber attacks on its critical infrastructure.
The Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy will be led by a Senate-confirmed ambassador and will focus on three key areas: cyberspace security, international digital policy, and digital freedom.
The department hopes this will integrate the core security, economic, and values components of its cyber agenda. It also revealed its plans to establish a new special envoy for critical and emerging technology to lead the immediate technology diplomacy agenda with its allies and partners.
“The Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy, that will include three sub-units focused on international cyberspace security – that’s cyber policy and negotiations, cyber deterrence, cyber operations, and capacity building – international digital policy – and so that includes, for example, engagement with the ITU, standard-setting bodies, promotion of trusted telecom systems, digital technology tracks and multilateral agenda – and digital freedom,” said Ned Price, State Department spokesperson.
The move comes as the US recovers from a number of high-profile cyber attacks, like the Colonial Pipeline attack in May which led to the shutdown of the US fuel pipeline. The company manages around 45% of the US east coast’s fuel supplies and was forced to suspend 5,500 miles of pipeline between Texas and New York after falling victim to ransomware from the DarkSide group.
RELATED RESOURCE
HP Wolf Security: Threat insights report
Equipping security teams with the knowledge to combat emerging threats
The following month, JBS Foods paid an $11 million ransom to hackers who compromised its IT systems. The company, the largest processor of meat in the world and produces close to a quarter of the US’s beef, fell victim to an attack at the end of May. The company confirmed it made the $11 million ransom payment in Bitcoin.
As part of its response to the growing threat, the US Treasury has also imposed sanctions on virtual currency exchange Suex for its alleged role in facilitating transactions for ransomware actors. The Treasury said in September that Suex facilitated transactions involving illicit proceeds from at least eight ransomware variants, underlining that over 40% of its transaction history is associated with illicit actors.
-
Hackers breached a 158 year old company by guessing an employee password – experts say it’s a ‘pertinent reminder’ of the devastating impact of cyber crimeNews A Panorama documentary exposed hackers' techniques and talked to the teams trying to tackle them
-
‘All US forces must now assume their networks are compromised’ after Salt Typhoon breachNews The announcement marks the second major Salt Typhoon incident in the space of two years
-
The ransomware boom shows no signs of letting up – and these groups are causing the most chaosNews Thousands of ransomware cases have already been posted on the dark web this year
-
Everything we know about the Ingram Micro cyber attack so farNews A cyber attack on Ingram Micro severely disrupted operations and has been claimed by the SafePay ransomware group.
-
A prolific ransomware group says it’s shutting down and giving out free decryption keys to victims – but cyber experts warn it's not exactly a 'gesture of goodwill'
News The Hunters International ransomware group is rebranding and switching tactics
-
Swiss government data published following supply chain attack – here’s what we know about the culpritsNews Radix, a non-profit organization in the health promotion sector, supplies a number of federal offices, whose data has apparently been accessed.
-
Ransomware victims are getting better at haggling with hackersNews While nearly half of companies paid a ransom to get their data back last year, victims are taking an increasingly hard line with hackers to strike fair deals.
-
LockBit data dump reveals a treasure trove of intel on the notorious hacker groupNews An analysis of May's SQL database dump shows how much LockBit was really making
