Attorney General Bill Barr said Russia was behind the massive hack of U.S. government computer systems
His statement contradicted President Trump s suggestion it was China It certainly appears to be the Russians, Barr said
President Trump has avoided criticizing Russia and its President Vladimir Putin
Officials are still combing their systems to see what kind of information could have been stolen - including possibly from American spy agencies
WASHINGTON (AP) Federal authorities expressed increased alarm Thursday about an intrusion into U.S. and other computer systems around the globe that officials suspect was carried out by Russian hackers. The nation’s cybersecurity agency warned of a “grave” risk to government and private networks.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said in its most detailed comments yet that the intrusion had compromised federal agencies as well as “critical infrastructure” in a sophisticated attack that was hard to detect and will be difficult to undo.
CISA did not say which agencies or infrastructure had been breached or what information taken in an attack that it previously said appeared to have begun in March.
SolarWinds security adviser Ian Thornton-Trump warned company executives in 2017 of cybersecurity risks
He gave a presentation to executives urging them to install a cybersecurity senior director because he thought a major breach was inevitable
He says he resigned a month after his presentation because he claimed the company wasn t interested in making the changes he had suggested
SolarWinds is now at the center of a major data breach after suspected Russian hackers gained access to its common software product
At least 24 organizations across the US installed the software that had been exploited by hackers
This is in addition to the government agencies, including the State, Homeland Security, Commerce and Energy departments that were hacked
Vladimir Putin lauded the SVR foreign intelligence service at an event marking its 100th anniversary on Sunday I wish success to everyone who defends Russia, our people from external and internal threats, defends sovereignty and national interests, he said in a speech The most serious attention should be paid to information security, he stressed
Putin did not make any reference to allegations that the SVR launched a massive operation against the US government
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blamed Russia for the attack on Friday
President Donald Trump condemned Pompeo s remarks on Saturday and shifted blame toward China while downplaying the severity of the attack
Trump slams Pompeo for blaming Russia for huge cyber attack as he breaks his silence to say CHINA could be responsible and that voting machines may have been hit - but claims it is well under control
Donald Trump finally addressed the massive hack on US government agencies and private sector firms for the first time Saturday
The president took a swipe at Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, tagging him and Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe in a tweet
The tweet blamed China for the unprecedented hack, despite Pompeo claiming Russia was to blame, and also claimed the election had been hacked