WASHINGTON, Nov 2, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - Representatives from 36 countries and the European Union met in Washington this week to strategize ways to combat "ransomware" including setting up a joint task force next year.

The summit, organized by the White house, was devoted to countering malware attacks, in which corporate or government computer systems are targeted and forced offline until money -- often in the form of cryptocurrency -- is paid.

"Ransomware is a global challenge that requires global cooperation to produce global solutions," said US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.

The participating countries included Australia, France, the United Arab Emirates, Israel and Ukraine.

Anne Neuberger, US Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology, said the participants discussed "sharing and coordinating policies on ransom payments" as well as setting up a joint ransomware task force in the first quarter of 2023.

The experts also discussed ways to "strengthen our diplomatic cooperation to deny safe haven to ransomware actors," said Sullivan.

"If we work together, we can starve them of oxygen, we can make the environment more hostile for them, and break their business models," said David Koh, chief executive of the Cybersecurity Agency of Singapore.

This was the second such summit in Washington, after last year's meeting took place online due to the pandemic.

Also attending this year were representatives of US tech giant Microsoft, Germany's Siemens, India's Tata, and others, according to US officials.