Russia claims it prevented US cyber attacks on its infrastructure
Russia has identified and suppressed US attempts to commit cyber attacks on infrastructure management systems, Russian news agencies RIA Novosti and TASS reported, citing an unnamed security source.
A few days ago, the New York Times, citing unnamed government sources, reported that the United States had introduced potentially malicious computer code into the Russian power supply system in order to deploy its cyber-tools.
According to the newspaper, President Donald Trump had no knowledge of this. Trump tweeted that the NYT’s statements were untrue, but did not provide any evidence.
Earlier on Monday, the Kremlin said that the American newspaper’s article was disturbing and shows that cyber war is theoretically possible.
“We see and make note of these attempts. However, we were able to neutralize these attacks,” said a source in the Russian security services.
According to him, in recent years, foreign intelligence services have intensified cyber attacks against Russia. As a rule, they are directed against the transport, banking and energy systems.
Relations between Russia and the United States have reached a new low since the days of the Cold War, in particular, because Washington accuses Moscow of interfering in the 2016 American election. Moscow denies these charges.
Responding to a question about the New York Times article, the Russian president’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said: “Of course, this information indicates the hypothetical possibility, let's say, that all signs point to cyber war and cyber war attacks being launched against the Russian Federation.”
According to Peskov, some strategically important areas of the Russian economy have been repeatedly subjected to cyber attacks from abroad and the authorities are constantly working to protect the economy and its weak points.