Multimillion-dollar rewards bolster Biden White House anti-ransomware bid 

Officials are hoping to seize more extortion payments in ransomware cases, as the FBI did in recouping most of the $4.4m (€3.3m) ransom paid by Colonial Pipeline in May.

A task force has been launched to co-ordinate efforts to stem the ransomware scourge. Picture: Jenny Kane/AP

The US State Department is offering rewards of up to $10m (€8.5m) for information leading to the identification of anyone engaged in foreign state-sanctioned malicious cyber activity against critical American infrastructure, including ransomware attacks.

The White House – which has launched a task force to co-ordinate efforts to stem the ransomware scourge – has also created the stopransomware.gov website, offering the public resources for countering the threat and building more resilience into networks, an official said.