Category: Asia Pacific

MIL OSI Translation. Canadian French to English –

Source: Government of Canada – in French 1

Today, Canada met with 67 other members at the 4th annual Initiative to Combat Ransomware Summit in Washington DC to enhance international cooperation in this area.

The 68 members of the international Initiative to Combat Ransomware (ILR)—Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, Chad, Colombia, Costa Rica, Council of Europe, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, ECOWAS, Egypt, Estonia, European Union, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Global Cyber Expertise Forum, Hungary, India, INTERPOL, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Lithuania, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Organization of American States, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vanuatu, and Vietnam—met in Washington, DC from September 30 to October 3 2024 for the fourth ILR gathering. Members who participated in previous editions welcomed Argentina, Bahrain, Cameroon, Chad, the Council of Europe, Denmark, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Finland, the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise, Hungary, Morocco, the Organization of American States, the Philippines, the Republic of Moldova, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Vanuatu and Vietnam as new ILR members.

During the fourth ILR gathering, members reaffirmed their shared commitment to building collective resilience against ransomware, supporting members if they encounter a ransomware attack, pursuing actors responsible for ransomware attacks and not allowing these actors to operate in their jurisdictions, combating the use of virtual assets as part of the ransomware business model, working with the private sector to advise and support ILR members, and forging international partnerships so that we are collectively better equipped to combat the ransomware scourge.

Over the past year, this coalition has grown and continues to build on commitments made at the third ILR gathering in 2023. The United States launched a new ILR Member Fund to strengthen members’ cybersecurity capabilities through rapid assistance following a cyberattack as well as targeted support to improve cybersecurity response skills, policies, and procedures.

Under the Strategic Pillar, led by Singapore and the UK, efforts have been underway to strengthen resilience against ransomware attacks and leverage the ecosystem to disrupt the criminal ransomware industry. These efforts aim to strengthen the operating model that underpins the ransomware ecosystem by focusing work on secure software and labelling, methods to prevent the use of virtual assets as part of the ransomware operating model, policies to reduce ransom payments, increased and improved reporting, cyber insurance, and a playbook to guide businesses on how to prepare for, respond to, and recover from a ransomware attack. It is worth noting that ILR members and insurance bodies have endorsed guidelines to assist organisations that have been hit by a ransomware attack. The guidelines highlight the important role that cyber insurance can play in building resilience to cyberattacks and highlight actions that organizations should consider during an incident. In addition, pillar leaders hosted a tabletop exercise to help members identify gaps in their processes, learn best practices, and develop effective responses to ransomware attacks against the healthcare sector.

Under the Diplomacy and Capacity Building pillar, led by Germany and Nigeria, ILR partnerships were expanded with the addition of 18 new members to the coalition and members’ capacity building assets and needs were established. To foster collaboration, build new partnerships, and recruit new members to the Initiative, ILR members hosted regional events throughout the year.

Led by Australia and Lithuania, the Ransomware Working Group (RWWG) has focused its efforts on building resilience against malicious cyberattacks through international cooperation. As co-chairs of the RWWG, Lithuania and Australia developed governance principles for intelligence sharing and improved members’ integration into intelligence sharing platforms led by Lithuania and Belgium, as well as Israel and the United Arab Emirates. These platforms will enable members to easily share threat intelligence and indicators of compromise. As part of a project led by INTERPOL and Australia, a comparative report was produced to analyse ransomware responses and remediation across ILR member jurisdictions. Australia launched an ILR website and portal to facilitate the exchange of information and best practices, foster collaboration, and provide a mechanism for the ILR community to request assistance when members are victims of a ransomware attack. The LRWG Co-Chairs called on members to behave responsibly in cyberspace by encouraging them to hold malicious actors accountable and deny them safe haven using all cyber diplomacy and law enforcement tools at their disposal.

Canada has established a new public-private sector advisory council to advise and support ILR members in the fight against ransomware. This advisory council will promote effective information sharing, build trust through clear expectations and people-to-people collaboration, and develop best practices to overcome practical barriers.

ILR also hosted a first-ever event exploring the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to combat ransomware attacks. Topics discussed included using AI to track threat actor usage and software security, scenario planning for ransomware attacks on the healthcare industry, and tools like digital watermarking to counter disinformation.

Through the annual ILR gathering, hard work, and regional meetings that take place between gatherings, we are committed to working together at the strategic and operational levels to combat ransomware threats and hold the perpetrators of these malicious attacks accountable. The ILR continues to advocate for responsible behavior in cyberspace and encourage members to report malicious acts. We remain committed to using all appropriate tools to achieve these goals and jointly commit to the following actions in support of this mission.

Media RelationsPublic Safety Canada613-991-0657media@ps-sp.gc.ca

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a translation. Apologies should the grammar and/or sentence structure not be perfect.

MIL Translation OSI