US President Joe Biden on July 20 convened his second cabinet meeting to mark six months in office. While speaking to reporters before the meeting at the White House, Biden said that the US government will continue their fight against the climate crisis and the challenges of cybersecurity. Biden added that they have been clear to the nations about what they expect in terms of their conduct.
“We are going to lead the fight against the climate crisis and tackling — tackling the challenges of cybersecurity. We’ve been very clear to our — our — other nations as to what we expect in terms of their conduct”, Biden told reporters.
Cybersecurity and climate crisis centre of Cabinet discussion
Since taking office, Biden has been focused on cybersecurity that has targeted different sectors like food, technology in the United States, as per a report by The Hill. In recent months, US companies and government agencies have been the target of hackers. The massive hack of the Microsoft Exchange email server software and ransomware attacks on Colonel Pipeline, US meat producer company JBS, SolarWinds hacking compromised several federal agencies. As per the report, Biden is regularly briefed about cybersecurity.
Jen Psaki in her press briefing on Tuesday said that the President and cabinet ministers would discuss COVID-19, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework and the Build Back Better agenda, climate, and a national security update after the Europe trip. She added that the discussions were expected to be over the latest cybersecurity efforts of the government. It was the first time that Biden’s full cabinet convened in the Cabinet Room at the White House. Biden’s first cabinet meeting which was held in March took place in East Room to maintain social distancing. During the meeting, Biden stated that they are delivering on the promises made to the people and they have to keep on delivering on the promises.
“We have to deliver on all the promises we made, because I think we’re in a situation where the vast majority of the public agrees with the essence of what we’re trying to do”, AP quoted Biden as saying.
Earlier on July 19, Biden slammed the Chinese and Russian governments for ‘protecting and accommodating’ criminal hackers. While speaking to reporters at the White House, Biden addressed the recent hacking incidents and said that the US was joining with European nations to expose the scale of China’s activity. He added that the investigation into the cyberattack on Microsoft Exchange Server isn’t finished but that the Chinese government bears responsibility.
“My understanding is that the Chinese government, not unlike the Russian government, is not doing this themselves, but are protecting those who are doing it and maybe even accommodating them being able to do it,” Biden said.