US to team up with Israel on ransomware task force

Task force agrees to share information on financial sector, Treasury Department says

A online meeting on ransomware attacks was held at the White House in October. Reuters

The US will link up with Israel to set up a joint task force to combat ransomware.

The cyber security task force will share information related to the financial sector, including cyber security regulations and threat intelligence, the US Treasury Department said on Sunday.

The announcement comes after an online meeting on ransomware held at the White House in October, which included the EU, Israel and more than 30 countries.

Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo asked for international co-operation to address the abuse of digital currencies and disrupt the ransomware business model.

The partnership comes after measures taken to combat a surge in ransomware attacks that has affected several big US companies, including an attack on the largest fuel pipeline in the country that halted fuel deliveries for several days.

A broader US-Israeli task force was also set up on Sunday to address issues related to FinTech and cyber security, the Treasury Department said.

Mr Adeyemo met with Israeli Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Director General of the National Cyber Directorate Yigal Unna in Israel on Sunday to establish a partnership, the department said.

Earlier this month, the US Justice Department charged a Ukraine citizen and a Russian over their involvement in one of the worst ransomware attacks against American targets.