Deputy Director of the National Cyber and Information Security Agency (NÚKIB) Pavel Štěpáník and Cyber Attachée to the United States Berta Jarošová represented the Czech Republic during the third annual International Counter Ransomware Summit convened by Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology Anne Neuberger in Washington DC.
The Czech Republic, together with more than 40 other states, joined the collective statement against ransomware payments. NÚKIB discouraged from paying ransomware demands in recent analysis and recommendation on ransomware.
Over the past year, the Czech Republic contributed to various projects of the International Counter Ransomware Task Force led by Australia and Policy Pillar led by Singapore, including on strengthening information sharing or cyber insurance against ransomware.
During the two-day summit hosted by the White House, the Czech Republic pointed out to the rise of ransomware-as-a-service showed by the Report on the State of Cyber Security 2022 and recalled the warning against ransomware issued by NÚKIB in June 2023. More recently, the Czech law-enforcement authorities also participated in the take-down of Ragnar Locker ransomware gang.
Effective inter-agency coordination, trusted public-private partnership and close international cooperation are key in tackling ransomware. For this reason, NÚKIB and the National Center for Combating Terrorism, Extremism, and Cybercrime (NCTEKK) agreed to co-establish an informal working group on ransomware in the future to strengthen cooperation among relevant actors and institutions at the national level.
On the margins of the International Counter Ransomware Summit, Deputy Director Pavel Štěpáník met with National Cyber Director Kemba Walden and held various bilateral engagements on cybersecurity and cyber resilience with partners in the United States, including the National Institute for Standards and Technology, the Department of Energy and the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
Joint Statement from the Third Annual Counter Ransomware Summit: International Counter Ransomware Initiative 2023 Joint Statement | The White House
Joint Statement Against Ransomware Payments: CRI joint statement on ransomware payments - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)