Biden speaks to Putin after latest ransomware attacks

President Biden urged Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call Friday to take action to stem recent ransomware attacks from Russia-linked groups.

"I made it very clear to him that the United States expects that when a ransomware operation is coming from his soil, even though it is not sponsored by the state, we expect him to act, if we give him enough information to act on who that is," Mr. Biden said. The president also said that he and Putin "have set up a means of communication now" so that they can speak "on a regular basis" when "each of us thinks something is happening in another country that affects the home country." The president said he's "optimistic" about his relationship with Putin. But when a reporter asked if there would be consequences for these attacks, Mr. Biden replied, "Yes."