White House to host second ransomware conference

The White House is set to host on Monday and Tuesday a second international conference on combatting “ransomware,” with 36 nations and representatives from some of the world’s biggest companies in attendance.

While last year’s meeting took place online due to the pandemic, officials will be gathering in Washington for this year’s discussions, a senior US administration official told reporters Sunday.

Ransomware attacks, in which corporate or government computer systems are taken offline until money — often in the form of cryptocurrency — is paid, are “only getting more challenging” to confront, the official said.