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US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the Russians are behind the widespread cyberattacks targeting US government agencies, while President-elect Joe Biden vowed to respond to these attacks, and amid discontent in Congress with President Donald Trump’s administration of the issue.
Pompeo said on “The Mark Levin Show” on Friday, “Now we can say very clearly that the Russians” are behind that attack.
This approval comes after US officials accused Moscow of being behind the attacks, which according to US sources began last March and are still continuing.
However, Moscow denied its involvement in the piracy operations and expressed its willingness to cooperate with Washington in this regard.
Deputy White House spokesman Brian Morgenstern had confirmed that President Trump was working hard and was receiving the necessary information about the attack.
Morgenstern added that National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien was holding ongoing meetings with relevant security authorities to limit the consequences of the attack.
He said teams were formed to deal with the attack, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Homeland Security and the National Security Agency.
Pompeo: Now we can say very clearly that the Russians are behind that (French) attack.Swore to answer
Earlier, US President-elect Joe Biden promised Russians to respond to widespread cyberattacks targeting sensitive US institutions, including the Nuclear Security Administration.
In an interview with the “CBS” channel on Friday, Biden said his administration would hold the Russians accountable for cyberattacks that affected various ministries, including defense, internal and external security, treasury, nuclear security administration and public sector institutions. and private.
He added that his administration will spend more money to strengthen cybersecurity in the United States.
Pelosi criticized the Trump administration’s handling of the attacks (Getty Images)Resentment and anxiety
These developments come amid discontent in Congress over the Trump administration’s handling of the issue.
In this context, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, described the cyberattacks targeting various federal agencies as large and far-reaching.
Pelosi said in a statement that the attacks are disturbing evidence that the actors she described as malicious, including Russia, continue to be bent on undermining US national security and democracy.
Pelosi criticized the Trump administration’s handling of the attacks, finding it sad and worrying that (the Trump administration) turned a blind eye to the attacks by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who accused him of making continuous efforts to attack electoral systems and undermine trust in America’s democratic institutions.
Devastating process
For his part, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senator Mark Warner, described the cyber breach as destructive.
He said in a statement that President Donald Trump and the White House are demonstrating once again that they are not taking the issue seriously enough.
For his part, the chairman of the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Republican Senator Jim Risch, considered that the widespread and continuous cyberattack on federal and government agencies and bodies in the United States constitutes a warning bell.
Reesh called on authorities at all levels to prioritize cybersecurity to protect sensitive American assets from hostile foreign parties such as Russia.
Risch stressed the need for consequences for those who commit such operations against Americans.
Earlier, the head of the US House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff, said: “The severity and duration of this attack show that we still have a great and urgent job to defend our important information and networks, and we must move faster than our opponents are doing to adapt to this. “
Russia is waging an unconventional war behind the screens (Getty Images)Hack and spy
Politico has reported, citing US officials, that the National Nuclear Security Administration was breached during recent cyberattacks, and that there is evidence that hackers penetrated the networks of the administration responsible for the nuclear arsenal for the purpose of espionage.
The website said that Energy Ministry officials planned today to notify relevant House and Senate committees about the occurrence of the breach, and the ministry confirmed that the national security functions of the National Nuclear Security Administration did not were affected by the cyberattack.
In turn, Bloomberg reported that the cyberattack included at least 3 US states, as well as government agencies.
On Thursday, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which is part of the US Department of Homeland Security, confirmed that US government agencies and critical infrastructure entities have been at risk of being hacked by hackers since at least last March, emphasizing that hackers “ have shown patience and security in complex operations and dexterity. In these advances “.
The security agency has issued orders to government agencies to disconnect their devices from the “Solar Windows” program, which is believed to be compromised and used by many government agencies and private companies in the United States.
The Politico magazine website also quoted US officials as saying that hackers had done more damage to the Federal Energy Regulatory Authority than other agencies.
For their part, the Surveillance and National Security Committees of the United States House of Representatives announced the opening of an investigation into the cyberattack against government agencies.
The New York Times reported that investigators believe it will take months to discover the extent of the US networks affected by the hacking process.
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