Unclassified White House Computers Hacked, Officials Blame Russia

Offers No Specific Details Why They're Blaming Russia

White House officials say that their unclassified computer network has been hacked, and that some services were disrupted in recent weeks. They say there was no damage done to the systems, nor any evidence that the classified network was hit at all.

It sounds like something of a non-story, except that White House officials are blaming “hackers thought to be working for the Russian government,” making it a potential international incident.

That is, if it’s true. Officials provided no details as to why they were blaming Russia, and indeed no evidence that Russia was a more likely candidate than any other hackers.

Ultimately, it seems the allegation is based on the recent media coverage of Russian hackers being scarier than, say, Chinese hackers. US foreign policy right now is also leaning toward a more anti-Russia bend than it was in years past, so blaming Russia would be extremely convenient to their overall narrative.

It’s unclear why the Russian government would bother to hack the White House’s unclassified systems for the sake of some minor service disruptions, as usual any government hackers are in it for serious information gains, not mere pranks.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.