infrastructure. today's white house memo suggests five fundamental things that companies can do immediately to shore up their defenses, as the threat from ransomware attackers is not only spiking but evolving, from trying to steal companies and organization's data to trying shut down their operations. >> if they believe a company can pay and pay a lot, they become a target almost immediately. if they believe that this company don't have the right measures in place, they're going to go after them for sure. >> reporter: another sign that the biden administration is taking this growing cyber threat ser seriously, the justice department announced it will be handling ransomware cases in a similar way as terrorism. when suspected ransom attacks arise there will be more coordination inside the justice department, more information sharing, more resources dedicated to them. a new step by the justice department, jake, that recognizes this growing and major threat. >> alex marquardt, thank you so much. joining us now to discuss,