Joe Biden said he has directed U.S. intelligence agencies to investigate who was behind a sophisticated ransomware attack that hit hundreds of American businesses and led to suspicions of Russian gang involvement, writes Reuters.

Security firm Huntress Labs said on Friday it believed the Russia-linked REvil ransomware gang was to blame for the latest ransomware outbreak. Last month, the FBI blamed the same group for paralyzing meat packer JBS SA (JBSS3.SA).

Biden was asked about the hack while shopping for pies at a cherry orchard market. He said “we’re not certain” who is behind the attack: “The initial thinking was it was not the Russian government but we"re not sure yet. I directed U.S. intelligence agencies to investigate, and the United States will respond if they determine Russia is to blame”.

The hackers who struck on Friday hijacked widely used technology management software from a Miami-based supplier called Kaseya. They changed a Kaseya tool called VSA, used by companies that manage technology at smaller businesses. They then encrypted the files of those providers" customers simultaneously.

Huntress said it was tracking eight managed service providers that had been used to infect some 200 clients.