US welcomes Russia's steps in ransomware fight
Oleg Nikolenko, a spokesperson for Ukraine's Foreign Ministry, said the Ministry's website, as well as that of numerous other government institutions, was down due to hostile cyber activity.
A senior US administration official revealed the US welcome Russia's steps in combating ransomware emanating from within Russia.
During a briefing, the official revealed that the US "welcomes reports that the Kremlin is taking law enforcement steps to address ransomware emanating from within its borders."
The official added that Russia's actions against "R Evil" are important and expects Moscow to pursue legal action against the hackers.
The group is suspected to have stolen money through hacking programs and carried out numerous hacking operations.
Earlier on Friday, the Ukrainian government websites reported a "relatively unsophisticated" breach. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said the Ministry's websites and other government sites were inaccessible due to cyber breaches.
During a summit in June, Russian President Vladimir Putin and American President Joe Biden expressed a desire to strengthen their cooperation in combating cybercrime.
According to the State Department, the "US and France held the fourth US-France Cyber Dialogue virtually on January 14, 2022... They also discussed ways to support Ukraine as it responds to and recovers from malicious cyber activity."