Moscow on Tuesday expressed unease about a recent New York Times report that said that the United States (US) was planning a series of covert strikes on Russian networks in response to the SolarWinds cyberattack. “This is alarming information,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a news briefing, adding that such an action by Washington would be a “pure international cybercrime.”
According to the March 7 report, the administration is preparing to undertake several clandestine actions to punish Russia for its malign cyber activities, while also imposing sanctions on the country. The White House has confirmed that the US will respond to the SolarWinds hack with “a mix of actions, seen and unseen,” though there have been no revelations about the details of such countermeasures. However, NYT said that the first of such strikes could come in the next three weeks, kicking off attacks in Russia meant to be noticed only by the country’s senior-most intelligence officials and the president, but not the public. President Joe Biden will reportedly also take executive action to strengthen government networks.
The forthcoming measures will likely fall under the purview of the US Cyber Command according to The Times, which has been given explicit instructions by the administration on how to deal with major cyber operations that could escalate conflict. According to the new guidelines set up by Biden’s national security advisor Jake Sullivan, the Cyber Command will have to bring certain operations—depending on their size and scope—to the White House and National Security Council for review.
Sullivan, for his part, has said that a combination of public sanctions and private actions is most likely to force a “broad strategic discussion with the Russians.” In an interview last week, he added, “I actually believe that a set of measures that are understood by the Russians, but may not be visible to the broader world, are actually likely to be the most effective measures in terms of clarifying what the United States believes are in bounds and out of bounds, and what we are prepared to do in response.” Russia has consistently denied any involvement in the cyberattack and has dismissed the allegations as “baseless.” However, Biden has vowed to retaliate against those responsible and to prioritise and strengthen cybersecurity.
The issue has added urgency at the White House since the developments come just days after Microsoft disclosed that had been the victim of a massive global cyber breach, which has been linked to a Chinese government-backed hacking group. Nearly 60,000 organisations have been affected by the attack so far, and US officials said last week that of them, more than 20,000 are US entities. Those affected include companies that run email servers, small retail businesses, law firms, municipal governments, banking institutions, military contractors, health care providers, and manufacturers. The White House has said that it was “undertaking a whole of government response to assess and address the impact” of the Microsoft intrusion, and noted that the threat was still active.
Kremlin Expresses Concern over US Plans to Conduct Cyberattacks Against Russia
Such actions by Washington would constitute international cybercrimes, Moscow warned.
March 10, 2021
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan SOURCE: MARK MAKELA/GETTY IMAGES via FOREIGN POLICY