U.S. formally accuses Russian hackers of
political cyber attacks
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[October 08, 2016]
By Mark Hosenball, Dustin Volz and Jonathan Landay
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government
for the first time on Friday formally accused Russia of a campaign of
cyber attacks against Democratic Party organizations ahead of the Nov. 8
presidential election.
"We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that
only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorized these
activities," a U.S. government statement said on Friday about hacking of
political groups.
"These thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the U.S.
election process."
U.S. intelligence officials concluded weeks ago that the Russian
government was conducting or orchestrating cyber attacks against the
Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign
Committee, possibly to disrupt or discredit the election, in which
Democrat Hillary Clinton faces Republican Donald Trump.
A Kremlin spokesman called the U.S. allegations "nonsense", the Interfax
news agency reported.
On Saturday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said the U.S. accusations
lacked any proof and were an attempt by Washington to fan "unprecedented
anti-Russian hysteria".
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"This whipping up of emotions regarding 'Russian hackers' is used in the
U.S. election campaign, and the current U.S. administration, taking part
in this fight, is not averse to using dirty tricks," Deputy Foreign
Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Saturday in comments posted on the
ministry's website.
The Obama administration's decision to blame Russia for the attacks is
the latest downward turn in U.S. relations with Moscow, which are under
strain over Russia's actions in Syria and Ukraine and in cyberspace.
Also on Friday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Russian and
Syrian actions in the Syrian civil war, including bombings of hospitals,
"beg for" a war crimes investigation.
In addition, a U.S. intelligence official said on Friday that Russia was
moving short-range nuclear-capable missiles into Kaliningrad, a tiny
Russian enclave between Poland and Lithuania, confirming Estonian news
reports.
Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta, said the public blaming for
the hacks left one remaining question of "why Donald Trump continues to
make apologies for the Russians". Trump had previously expressed doubt
about Russia's involvement. In July, he suggested Russia should attempt
to retrieve and publish emails from Clinton's private server.
Trump's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Hours after the U.S. government's accusation was levied, WikiLeaks
posted hundreds of emails on its website purportedly hacked from
Podesta's private account.
CHANGE IN TONE
Until Friday, the Obama administration had avoided publicly singling out
Russia in connection with the mounting civilian deaths in Syria or the
cyber attacks.
The statement by the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of
the Director of National Intelligence did not blame the Russian
government for hacking attempts against state election systems, but said
"scanning and probing" of those systems originated in most cases from
servers operated by a Russian company.
However, a Department of Homeland Security spokesman said U.S. officials
had concluded that the hacking attacks or probes of state voter
registration systems were "consistent with Russian motivations".
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The headquarters of the Democratic National Committee is seen in
Washington, U.S. June 14, 2016. REUTERS/Gary Cameron
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Concern has grown about the reliability of the U.S. voting system as
a result of the breach, and Trump has called the system "rigged,"
but without providing specific evidence.
U.S. intelligence officials have said there is no evidence that
voting recording systems have been manipulated.
Identifying Russia as the actor behind the cyber attacks on
political organizations falls short of more punitive measures the
United States has taken against other countries for cyber
intrusions.
Lawmakers of both political parties welcomed the formal accusation.
Republican Senator Cory Gardner, chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign
Relations Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific and International
Cybersecurity, said he planned to introduce sanctions legislation.
Earlier this year, a U.S. grand jury indicted seven Iranians
employed by two Iran-based computer firms on charges of hacking into
the U.S. financial sector. In 2015, Obama announced sanctions
against North Korea for hacking into Sony Pictures.
In 2014, the United States charged five Chinese military hackers for
economic espionage aimed at U.S. nuclear, metals and solar
industries.
A senior U.S. official said the administration is considering other
retaliatory steps against Russia, but he declined to identify them.
Those steps may remain covert, the official said.
The Democratic National Committee publicly disclosed intrusions into
its systems in June and held Russia responsible. Leaks of committee
emails from pro-transparency group WikiLeaks soon followed,
demonstrating what appeared to be favoritism for Clinton over
another Democrat, Bernie Sanders, by committee chairwoman Debbie
Wasserman Schultz. Wasserman Schultz, a Florida congresswoman,
stepped down.
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In Friday's statement, the government said disclosures of emails by
WikiLeaks and hacking entities known as DCLeaks and Guccifer 2.0
“are consistent with the methods and motivations of Russian-directed
efforts”.
WikiLeaks has not identified the source of its leaks and criticized
those who have claimed it was Russia. Guccifer 2.0 has identified
itself as a Romanian hacker, but U.S. intelligence officials have
concluded that Guccifer 2.0 and DCLeaks are both a front for Russian
spy units.
(Reporting by Mark Hosenball, Dustin Volz and Jonathan Landay,
writing by Dustin Volz and Julia Edwards; Editing by Grant McCool
and Mark Heinrich)
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