Countering the Ransomware Threat | Council on Foreign Relations

Deputy National Security Advisor Anne Neuberger discusses international cyber cooperation initiatives to improve resilience to ransomware, efforts to disrupt ransomware and pursue those responsible for its proliferation, and countering illicit finance that underpins the ransomware ecosystem. 

SANGER: Well, good afternoon. I’m David Sanger from the New York Times. Great to see so many old friends in the crowd here. And we are joined by many others who are watching on video. And I’m delighted to be here with Anne Neuberger, the deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology. Anne has really sort of revolutionized the way the White House thinks and deals with all of these issues. So I am delighted that she’s here. 

So here’s how it’s going to unfold today. Anne and I are going to talk for about a half an hour on the new ransomware initiative she has, current ransomware issues, and a few other related cyber issues. And then at about 1:30, halfway through, we’re going to invite questions from the audience and from our extended audience as well. I want to remind everybody, boy, this makes me so happy to say, Anne, this is all on the record. (Laughter.) How often do we have a chance to talk on the record? This is great. And then we will proceed. That means that not only are Anne’s answers on the record, it means your questions are on the record. So think about that for a moment. (Laughs.) So. 

NEUBERGER: David’s joyfully enjoying this moment. 

SANGER: Yeah. (Laughs.) So, Anne, let’s just go back to the beginning of the administration when you were—after a quite remarkable career, which you can all read about in the materials in front of you, as a White House fellow, as the official of the NSA working on commercial issues, defensive issues, offensive issues—you end up coming to the White House. And even before President Biden is in office, while he is still in Delaware under COVID restrictions. Sort of hard to remember what this was all like now. The first big issue he is dealing with, apart from the fact that his predecessor was trying to overturn the election, was SolarWinds, right? We had the Russians having come in to the—to the…