The Kremlin indicates it might be open to cooperating on stopping cybercrimes

The Kremlin indicates it might be open to cooperating on stopping cybercrimes

Transcript¹

Whether Russia is serious about the effort is complicated. The Biden administration had pushed the Kremlin to take action against ransomware, which cost U.S. businesses billions in the last year.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

U.S. officials have talked about a, quote, "multipronged" attack from Russia against Ukraine. That could involve missile strikes and ground forces but also cyberattacks. As NPR's Jenna McLaughlin reports, though, while Russia threatens other countries with cyberwarfare, sometimes it cooperates to prevent them. Just how serious Russia is about that effort and what impact it could have is more complicated, though.

JENNA MCLAUGHLIN, BYLINE²: In January, Russia's domestic spy agency arrested a group of high-profile cybercriminals in Moscow and St. Petersburg. State media shared flashy videos of the raids with piles of cash and men tied up.

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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Non-English language spoken).

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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Non-English language spoken).

MCLAUGHLIN: The Biden administration had pushed the Kremlin to take action against ransomware, which has cost U.S. businesses billions in just the last year. But for many experts, to actually see it happen was shocking.

JACKIE KOVEN: I actually burnt my breakfast.

MCLAUGHLIN: Jackie Koven follows ransomware gangs at a company called Chainalysis. When she found out Russia had bagged some of the U.S.'s most wanted criminals, revealing extensive information about their names and locations, she couldn't believe it.

KOVEN: I was incredibly, incredibly surprised.

MCLAUGHLIN: On the dark web, it even spooked other hackers⁴.

KOVEN: To see it reverberate⁵ in the underground in chatter⁶, theories going on about who and how it all came to pass and who was next and what actually led to the downfall. It kind of spurred this whole conversation.

MCLAUGHLIN: Other experts were less stunned⁷. There was so much pressure on Russian officials to do something, anything, to stop the bleeding caused by cybercrime. This particular group, REvil, had already stopped operations after getting a lot of heat from governments around the world for a hack³ of widely used business software.

KIMBERLY GOODY: There have been major attacks that have hit critical infrastructure⁸ or impacted supply chains to the point where the issue could no longer be completely ignored.

MCLAUGHLIN: Kimberly Goody leads a team tracking cybercrime at Mandiant, a cybersecurity firm. She thinks these arrests give Russia the ability to claim the high ground regardless of the impact. But speaking of impact, the answer to that question is complicated, too. A possible chilling effect is that some cybercriminals are too scared to keep operating. This week, one ransomware developer gave victims the key to their data back and announced his retirement⁹. Major arrests can lead to a domino effect, but statistically¹⁰, ransomware remains¹¹ a big problem.

GOODY: Though I did look at some of the data that we have, do we see any trends in terms of a decline? And the answer from that perspective is no.

MCLAUGHLIN: Just recently, hackers with possible ties to Russia struck major oil terminals in Europe's biggest ports. So why did Russia make the arrests anyway?

ANDREI SOLDATOV: The FSB has been trying to do something in foreign policy for many years.

MCLAUGHLIN: Andrei Soldatov is a Russian investigative journalist. He thinks these arrests were a chess move made by the FSB, Russia's domestic intelligence agency. Most people assume the Kremlin is a monolith, but there's actually a lot of bureaucratic¹² infighting between agencies.

SOLDATOV: It's an interesting game because they need to show themselves as a reliable partner to the U.S.

MCLAUGHLIN: Despite current tensions, Putin wants to have the option to exercise diplomacy¹³ or at least look like a statesman. Now the FSB can do what they want with the cybercriminals they catch. They can force them to work for the state, give them light sentences or unleash¹⁴ them, especially in the face of U.S. sanctions, should Russia invade Ukraine. But cybercriminals don't only live in Russia. Allan Liska tracks ransomware for the cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.

ALLAN LISKA: And it'll be really interesting to see, especially as now we're starting to see more ransomware come out of Iran, come out of China, and I imagine, you know, in 2022 we'll see it coming out of even other countries.

MCLAUGHLIN: But the FSB can't control cybercrime around the world. Liska thinks the choice to let the criminal underground flourish could come back and bite Russia.

LISKA: Those countries won't have the same restrictions¹⁵ on going after Russian targets.

MCLAUGHLIN: Ransomware is now so accessible it's only a matter of time until it explodes beyond Russia's borders. In fact, it's already begun.

Jenna McLaughlin, NPR News.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 hack   

n.劈，砍，出租马车；v.劈，砍，干咳

参考例句：

• He made a hack at the log.他朝圆木上砍了一下。
• Early settlers had to hack out a clearing in the forest where they could grow crops.早期移民不得不在森林里劈出空地种庄稼。

4 hackers   

n.计算机迷( hacker的名词复数 )；私自存取或篡改电脑资料者，电脑“黑客”

参考例句：

• They think of viruses that infect an organization from the outside.They envision hackers breaking into their information vaults. 他们考虑来自外部的感染公司的病毒，他们设想黑客侵入到信息宝库中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Arranging a meeting with the hackers took weeks againoff-again email exchanges. 通过几星期电子邮件往来安排见面，他们最终同意了。 来自互联网

5 reverberate   

v.使回响，使反响

参考例句：

• The decision will reverberate and will jar the country.这项决定将引起反响并震撼这个国家。
• Echoes of cries of pain reverberate in my hear.痛苦呼喊的一遍遍的在我的心中回响。

6 chatter   

vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战

参考例句：

• Her continuous chatter vexes me.她的喋喋不休使我烦透了。
• I've had enough of their continual chatter.我已厌烦了他们喋喋不休的闲谈。

7 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

8 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

9 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

10 statistically   

ad.根据统计数据来看，从统计学的观点来看

参考例句：

• The sample of building permits is larger and therefore, statistically satisfying. 建筑许可数的样本比较大，所以统计数据更令人满意。
• The results of each test would have to be statistically independent. 每次试验的结果在统计上必须是独立的。

11 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

12 bureaucratic   

adj.官僚的，繁文缛节的

参考例句：

• The sweat of labour washed away his bureaucratic airs.劳动的汗水冲掉了他身上的官气。
• In this company you have to go through complex bureaucratic procedures just to get a new pencil.在这个公司里即使是领一支新铅笔，也必须通过繁琐的手续。

13 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

14 unleash   

vt.发泄，发出；解带子放开

参考例句：

• They hope to create allies to unleash against diseases,pests,and invasive species.他们希望创造出一些新群体来对付疾病、害虫和一些有侵害性的物种。
• Changing water levels now at times unleash a miasma of disease from exposed sewage.如今，大坝不时地改变水位，从暴露的污水释放出了疾病瘴气。

15 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制