Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm this Sunday said that America’s enemies have the ability to halt our power grids with cyberattacks.
CNN’s Jake Tapper asked Granholm if she thought U.S. enemies are a threat to our power grids, with Granholm responding, “Yeah, they are.”
“I believe there are malign groups who are attempting even as we speak. Thousands of attacks against all parts of the energy and private sector,” Granholm said. “The meat plant is just one example. It is occurring all the time. This is why we must work together.”
Granholm continued on to say Biden is partnering with U.S. allies and nations around the world, including Russia, to stop future cyberattacks.
“The president has given the executive orders to ensure our own house is prepared, so that citizens can protect themselves. My 86 year old mother two weeks ago got hacked,” Granholm said. “The fact is, we must step up our game on cyberdefenses. the president is working on that.”
“It doesn’t matter if you work in the private or public sector, you shouldn’t be paying ransomware because it just encourages the hackers,” Granholm ended.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo also spoke on the issue of cyberattacks in the U.S. targeting gas and food, saying these attacks are “here to stay and will get worse.”
It came out this past week that Biden’s DOJ made it a “top priority” to target the “growth of ransomware” after the attack on the Colonial pipeline, which led to a sharp increase in gas prices and short-term fuel shortages. Colonial did pay the $5 million in ransom to DarkSide, an organization based in Russia to get back control of their system.
“A goal of the Ransomware Task Force is to guarantee we bring the full resources of our Department in combating the many root causes of this threat,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco wrote in her memo.
The White House recently announced that President Biden will meet with President Putin at the Geneva Summit and will discuss the increase in Russia-based crimes.
Author: Steven Sinclaire