President Joe Biden urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to take action to disrupt criminal ransomware groups in Russia on a call Friday morning — their first publicized discussion since a summit in Geneva last month.

According to the White House, “Biden 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.”

“President 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 statement added.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki elaborated during Friday’s press briefing that Biden “reiterated his expectation that President Putin take action, even if it is not directed by the Russian government, if it is because of criminal actors in his own country.” The call lasted about an hour, she said.

“This is the first time — even though ransomware attacks have been increasing over the past 18 months, if not longer — that there has been this level of engagement at this level. And certainly the President knew, even when they met in Geneva, that there would be a need for ongoing discussions and engagements,” Psaki said.

She added that Biden has “always believed this was going to need to be an ongoing diplomatic engagement with the Russians,” adding, “We’ve had expert level talks, we’ve had those talks focused on cyber, focused on ransomware, but he also understands that there’s going to need to be talks at times at the leader level.”

The two leaders also discussed the recent renewal of cross-border humanitarian assistance to Syria in the UN Security Council, according to the White House.

Source: CNN