Quad nations vow to assist each other in action against malicious cyber activities
India Today
Leaders of the Quad nations —India, US, Australia and Japan — met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session in New York and took a vow to assist each other in taking action against malicious cyber activities.
The leaders of India, the United States, Japan and Australia collectively called Quad took a vow on Saturday to assist each other in ensuring the security and resilience of regional cyber infrastructure.
The leaders of the four countries issued a joint statement on the matter after holding a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York. The statement was issued by External affairs minister S Jaishankar and his counterparts Penny Wong of Australia, Hayashi Yoshimasa of Japan and US Secretary of State Tony Blinken called on states to take reasonable steps to address ransomware operations emanating from within their territory.
The Quad or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue comprising India, the US, Japan and Australia was set up in 2017 to counter China's aggressive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific region.
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The statement said that the leaders believe that focused initiatives to enhance the cyber capabilities of Indo-Pacific countries would ensure the security and resilience of regional cyberinfrastructure.
"The transnational nature of ransomware can adversely affect our national security, finance sector and business enterprise, critical infrastructure, and the protection of personal data. We appreciate the progress made by the 36 countries supporting the US-led Counter Ransomware Initiative and the regular, practical-oriented consultations against cybercrime in the Indo-Pacific region," they said.
The ministers highlighted that practical cooperation in countering ransomware among Indo-Pacific partners would result in denying safe haven to ransomware actors in the region.
