Grouping steps up efforts on ransomware, India key partner

WASHINGTON: In the face of enhanced ransomware attacks globally, the International Counter Ransomware Initiative (CRI), a grouping of 36 countries, including India, and the European Union, has decided to deepen its institutional collaboration to enhance “collective resilience” to ransomware, disrupt attacks and pursue responsible actors, counter illicit finance that underpins ransomware ecosystem, work with the private sector against attacks, and cooperate across all elements of the ransomware threat.

At the end of the first in-person CRI summit in Washington DC on Wednesday, hosted by the United States National Security Council, the grouping also took a series of decisions to step up the institutional mechanisms to deal with what US national security advisor Jake Sullivan called a “global challenge that requires global cooperation to produce global solutions”.

India leads the network resilience working group of the initiative along with Lithuania and was represented by Lt General (retired) Rajesh Pant, the national cybersecurity coordinator in the PM’s Office.

Acknowledging that India had been at the “receiving end of many ransomware attacks” on its “critical infrastructure”, Pant underscored the need for both publicprivate partnership and global and regional cooperation in combining “knowledge, expertise and capabilities” in taking on ransomware attacks and holding those responsible for it.

Pant began his remarks at the closing session of the summit by pointing to the power of the grouping. “If someone takes a picture of this powerful table, it will send some shivers down the spine of these criminals we are chasing.” India also announced that it intends to establish a dedicated counter ransomware platform, Malwarekosh, “to support, analyse, share and collaborate on counter randomware activities”.

CRI, Sullivan said, was the largest in terms of a cybersecurity coalition.

“I want to particularly thank Australia, Singapore, the UK, India, Lithuania, Spain and Germany, the CRI working group leads who have made sure that this collaboration is broadly shared, brings diverse perspectives, and really creates a platform.”

INDIA LEADS THE NETWORK RESILIENCE WORKING GROUP OF THE INITIATIVE ALONG WITH LITHUANIA