Biden, Putin Appear Ready to Make Deal on Cyber Criminals
Of all of the ways in which this latest iteration of the Cold War has manifested itself in recent years, the insidious actors of the digital dimension may very well be the most prominent here in the 21st century.
Notably, the den of online thieves and troublemakers who emanate from Russia, and often choose to target individuals and businesses in America. In the past several weeks alone, hackers with ties to Russia have crippled a gasoline pipeline on the east coast of the United States and the world’s largest meatpackers.
Now, as US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin look for ways to improve the ailing relationship between their two nations, a novel idea has risen in popularity.
President Joe Biden signaled an openness to swapping cybercriminals with Russia ahead of his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday.
“Yes, I’m open to, if there’s crimes committed against Russia that, in fact, people committing those crimes are being harbored in the United States, I’m committed to holding them accountable. I was told as I was flying here that he said that. I think that’s potentially a good sign of progress,” Biden said at a post-G-7 summit press conference in the United Kingdom on Sunday.
Putin had raised the possibility during an interview over the weekend.
“If we agree on the extradition of criminals, then Russia will naturally do that but only if the other side, in this case, the United States, agrees to the same and will also extradite corresponding criminals to the Russian Federation,” Putin said according to Russian news agency TASS.
Of course, given that Russia has a history of neglecting the human rights of her prisoners, there is sure to be some pushback regarding the idea of sending “innocent until proven guilty” perpetrators to Moscow.