For several days, Moscow had been suspected, but the United States took the plunge and formally accused, Friday, December 18, Russia of being behind the gigantic cyberattack which struck them.
“It was a very important undertaking, and I believe we can now say quite clearly that it was the Russians who engaged in this activity”, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said during political commentator Mark Levin’s radio show “The Mark Levin Show” on Friday (December 18th). The Secretary of State denounced a large-scale operation consisting in particular, by using software, of “Enter US government systems”.
Russia has firmly denied being involved in this affair. “Russia does not conduct offensive operations in cyberspace”said the Russian Embassy in Washington. The extent of this cyberattack continues to grow as new victims are discovered beyond the United States, reviving fears about the risks of espionage.
“It’s a major attack. I would say she’s probably still going (and) unprecedented “Republican elected official Marco Rubio, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on Fox News on Friday. He mentioned, like the government the day before, “A serious threat to the federal state, local communities, crucial infrastructure and the private sector”.
Microsoft reported Thursday evening that it had informed more than 40 customers affected by the software used by hackers, which could allow them unimpeded access to victims’ networks.
“About 80% of these clients are in the United States, but our work has also helped identify victims in several other countries at this stage.”Microsoft President Brad Smith said on the computer giant’s blog. The countries concerned are Canada, Mexico, Belgium, Spain, the United Kingdom, Israel and the United Arab Emirates. “The number of victims and the countries affected will continue to increase, for sure (…), creating a serious technological vulnerability for the United States and the world ”Brad Smith warned. “This is no ordinary espionage, even in the digital age. “
The hackers succeeded in compromising the Orion software of the American firm SolarWinds, used for the management and the supervision of computer networks of large companies or administrations.
Washington only discovered this March attack last week, if not earlier. If Senator Rubio felt that a foreign state was indeed behind this act “Patient”, “Sophisticated” and “Well funded”, he refrained from going any further. “When you nominate someone, you have to be sure” because “It’s like an act of war”, he said.
For James Andrew Lewis, of the think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies, “There are only a few countries that have the expertise and the resources to carry out such an attack, and Russia is one of them”.
Mike Pompeo had also suggested on Monday a possible involvement of Russian actors, evoking persistent attempts by such actors to “Enter the networks” US government departments and companies.
No reaction from the White House
According to a government official, the 45e the president was little or nothing involved in the government reaction to the computer attack. “It’s not his radius and Russia is involved, which complicates things. “
“It is as if Russian bombers have flown over our entire country repeatedly without being detected”, commented on Thursday Republican Senator Mitt Romney, deploring “The inexcusable silence and inaction of the White House” of President Donald Trump. His Democratic colleague Mark Warner also ruled “Extremely worrying that the president does not seem to take note of the gravity of the situation, and even less to provide a response”.
President-elect Joe Biden has promised to make it ” a priority “ upon taking office on January 20. But President-elect Joe Biden’s team on Friday warned of potential risks to US national security, accusing the Pentagon of suddenly halting briefings to the transitional government.
The National Security Agency, which oversees US military intelligence, called for heightened vigilance to prevent hackers from accessing key military or state systems.
According to information known at this point, the hackers managed to penetrate the internal emails of the US Treasury and Department of Commerce.
The energy ministry confirmed Friday to have been affected, while assuring that the malware had spared its most sensitive missions, in particular the branch responsible for the security of the nuclear arsenal.
