FBI Director Christopher Wray is comparing today’s efforts to thwart ransomware attacks with operations aimed at combating terrorism after 9/11.

In an interview Thursday with The Wall Street Journal, Wray said the bureau is investigating about 100 different types of ransomware, each of which had affected a dozen to 100 targets. Many of the attacks have been traced back to  cybercriminals in Russia, Wray said.

The interview marked Wray’s first public comments since two major ransomware attacks impacted businesses in the United States. Last month, the Colonial Pipeline, which provides about 45% of the East Coast’s fuel, was the victim of an attack that forced a six-day shutdown and sent gas prices soaring. The company paid $4.4 million to the hackers. 

And this week, a ransomware attack on JBS SA, the world’s largest meat processing company, resulted in computer systems being taken offline and plants briefly shutting down. 

Ransomware is a type of malicious code that encrypts computer files, making them unusable until a large payment is made — usually using cryptocurrency. 

Wray said there are “a lot of parallels” between the FBI’s efforts to root out ransomware attacks now as there was to fight terrorism 20 years ago.

“There’s a lot of importance, and a lot of focus by us on disruption and prevention,” he said. “There’s a shared responsibility, not just across government agencies but across the private sector and even the average American.”

The high-profile cyberattacks in recent weeks, Wray said, are opening Americans’ eyes to the scope of the problem. 

“Now realizing it can affect them when they’re buying gas at the pump or buying a hamburger — I think there’s a growing awareness now of just how much we’re all in this fight together,” Wray said.

The FBI director said ransomware incidents have tripled over the past year. Companies that track such cyberattacks say the cost to U.S. companies is rapidly increasingly — some estimates put it in the billions of dollars annually. 

U.S. officials have blamed REvil, a Russian-speaking gang of cybercriminals, for the JBS attack and DarkSide, a hacking group also with links to Russia, for the Colonial Pipeline attack.

President Joe Biden is expected to raise the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin when they meet in Geneva on June 16. Wray said Russia is harboring many of the individuals behind ransomware attacks. 

The FBI generally discourages companies or individuals from paying the ransoms because it can spur future attacks, but Wray told The Journal he is more interested in having companies cooperate with the bureau’s investigations. 

Doing so could help law enforcement as well as the businesses, he said.

“I don’t want to suggest that this is the norm, but there have been instances where we’ve even been able to work with our partners to identify the encryption keys, which then would enable a company to actually unlock their data — even without paying the ransom,” Wray said.

On Thursday, the White House issued an open letter to businesses calling on them to take urgent security measures to protect themselves against ransomware attacks. 

"All organizations must recognize that no company is safe from being targeted by ransomware, regardless of size or location," wrote Anne Neuberger, deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technologies. "We urge you to take ransomware crime seriously and ensure your corporate cyber defense match the threat."