White House: Biden Called Putin With a Warning

President Biden called Vladimir Putin on Friday to deliver a warning about cyberattacks, reports Axios. Biden told Putin the US is poised to retaliate after another ransomware incident blamed on Russian hackers, according to a White House statement. “Biden reiterated that the United States will take any necessary action to defend its people and its critical infrastructure in the face of this continuing challenge,” the White House said, per the Washington Post. The statement did not characterize Putin's response, and the Kremlin has not yet released its own readout of the call. Putin generally denies that his government has any role in the hacks.

Biden, though, “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," said the statement. A Russian-language group called REvil has claimed responsibility for the latest cyberattack on businesses in the US and in other nations. In fact, the code that launched the attack was written in a way that steered clear of computers that primarily use the Russian language, reports NBC News. (More President Biden stories.)