Despite the lack of evidence that Russia was behind a massive hack that appears to have targeted several US government agencies, US senators are calling for retaliation against Moscow, even likening the cyberattack to an invasion.
“This is virtually a declaration of war by Russia on the United States and we should take that seriously,” Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) said in an interview with CNN on Wednesday. On Thursday, Durbin called for a response against Moscow on the Senate floor, describing the hack as a “virtual invasion.”
“No, I’m not calling for an invasion myself or all-out war. I don’t want to see that happen, but it’s no longer a buddy-buddy arrangement between the United States and Vladimir Putin,” he said on Thursday. “When adversaries such as Russia torment us, tempt us, breach the security of our nation, we need to respond in kind.”
Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) chimed in on Thursday and said in a statement on Twitter that there has been “inexcusable silence and inaction from the White House” over the hack.
In a radio interview, Romney said: “I think the White House needs to say something aggressive about what happened. This is almost as if you had a Russian bomber flying undetected over the country, including over the nation’s capital, and not to respond in a setting like that is really stunning.”
The hack of the software company SolarWinds was discovered by the cybersecurity firm FireEye. SolarWinds software is used by various US government agencies and hundreds of corporations. When FireEye first reported the hack, the firm said it was carried out by a “nation-state” but did not specify which one.
Bloomberg reported on Monday that Charles Carmakal, a leading incident response expert for FireEye, said the firm had “not yet seen sufficient evidence” to name the actor responsible for the hack.
Since Russia is a favorite bogeyman of US media outlets, speculation that Moscow was involved began almost immediately. Anonymous sources speaking to several media outlets pinned the blame for the hack on Russia, and mainstream reporters followed their lead, repeating the claim as fact.
The Washington Post published a story on Thursday that said federal investigators discovered evidence of previously unknown tactics while investigating the cyberattacks. The Post described the hacks as “Russia’s recent intrusions,” only offering claims from unnamed officials to back up the assertion that Moscow was responsible.
The Post story reads: “The US government has not publicly blamed Russia for the hacks, but US officials speaking privately say that Russian government hackers were behind the operation.”
Other media outlets have been more careful, leaving room for doubt about Russia’s culpability. Politico reported that the Energy Department and National Nuclear Security Administration have been added to the list of US government agencies that were hacked. In the story, Russia is only mentioned once, and the claim that Moscow was responsible is much less definitive.
The Politico story reads: “The US government has not blamed any particular actor for the hacks yet, but cybersecurity experts have said the activity bears the hallmarks of Russia’s intelligence services.”
Joe Biden released a statement on the cyberattack, although he refrained from blaming Russia. “We need to disrupt and deter our adversaries from undertaking significant cyberattacks in the first place,” he said. “Our adversaries should know that, as president, I will not stand idly by in the face of cyber assaults on our nation.”
This is a PR stunt by M$. The hack came through their security service, they failed, to protect their company, they paid PR=B$ hacks and lobbyists to fabricate this to protect their share value behind the illusion of a Russia attack how can they possibly defend against the nasty Rooskies, the KGB, Boris and Natasha.
The responce to that is so, what if the entire Russian government cyber warriors ro what ever you want to call them, you are paid to protect against it, you failed, you provide insecure crap services by which you clients were hacked, you failed M$, you share price should be butchered, in a scam to protect a clearly overpriced stock, you choose to fabricate the Russian illusion.
M$ your security is shite, you should be held accountable, you failed the security of the nation you were paid very very profitably to do, obviously there should have been less profit and more security expenditure.
M$ failed, their excuse, Russia did it, seriously WTF?!?
US also hacks with stealth subs: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2016/07/29/america-is-hacking-other-countries-with-stealthy-submarines/
… So is Russia’s back on the hotseat with or instead of China?
Can’t help but wonder if the Pentagon and other Alphabet Agencies wargamed if they would win the next four years better under Biden or Trump.
Odds are, they did not, and only focused on getting Biden in.
These senators need to get back to reality instead of living in a their self-created virtual reality.
israel more than likely
Problems at two levels
– Misplaced certainty based on very limited indications. Russia is merely a possibility.
– Eagerness to respond with extreme aggression to a hacking incident.
So there is an organic willingness to go to war over an unattributed hacking incident . I say organic because the secret services aren’t even pushing here.
Willard Romney “its an virtual invasion!!!!!!” what an effing tool
17 so-called US Intell agencies, nothing but a clown car.
Intelligences agencies ? , they are far from being intelligent .
These are politicians so by definition, they are beyond stupid. Facts? Sorry, they do not need any stinking facts.
But the tragic fact is that this country just cannot fix stupid. As a result, the country as a whole is in dire straits and no one, say again, no one is stepping up to fill the leadership role.
Meanwhile, the war profiteers run merrily off to the banks, pausing to drop a few millions in the outstretched hands of these media and political mouthpieces.
Soon they’ll come up with “highly likely”.
The Politico story reads: “The US government has not blamed any particular actor for the hacks yet, but cybersecurity experts have said the activity bears the hallmarks of Russia’s intelligence services.”
Now isn’t that just like the Russians to be so stupid as to leave hallmarks pointing to themselves!
Maybe the “actor” was the CIA in a false flag operation, which they are expert at.
Makes sense. There would be screams for more spook money.
Let us see. Jeff Bezos owns WaPo. He also runs a privatized chunk of CIA. If I were an employee of that privatized segment, what would I chose to report? Report what I think is an objective assessment in service of my country, or report what I think my manager wants, the one who would perform my performance appraisal?
This is how it goes.
I am afraid that we have no more competent people left in government, and if we do, they cannot speak against expectations of their superiors.
If this is how our corporations are run, our military, our scientific institutions — it may all be smoke and mirrors.
Until some kid in the basement says virtually — emperor has no clothes!
lol america has never been under threat of invasion or occupation as for cyber hacking ain`t pay back a BITCH.
Hacking is what every country does if it can. The USA uses stealth subs to hack other countries. From WaPo. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2016/07/29/america-is-hacking-other-countries-with-stealthy-submarines/
“Russia! Russia! Russia! = Give us more money.
It’s “Transition Time”. Time for the various bureaucracies and “special interests” to line up and lobby the new administration for more money. Which means “Here comes the ad campaign!” It’s more likely that the CIA itself orchestrated this than the Russians. Or Israel and its Neocon fifth column, which loves to get the US sheeple all twitchy, and the MIC funded and up-armored and pointed at Russia.
Introducing “Super Baloney”, better than yesterday’s old, limp baloney.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the US is destroyed at all. It has no respect. Enjoy.
RS-28 Sarmat: Independent or Combined MIRVs: 15: Accuracy: 10 meters: Speed: Mach 21 (16,000 mph): Operational Range: 18,000km: Annihilation Land Area: 270,000 sq. mi. Note: these are the “public” abilities. Russia also has many, MANY more weapons like the multi-megaton nuclear drones that will wash US coastal cities with radioctive tsunamis. They can, without any doubt, utterly reduce the continental US to ashes.
“the amerikans are the living refutation of the cartesian cogito ergo sum. amerikans do not think, yet they are. the amerikan mind puerile, primitive lacks characteristic form is therefore open to every form of standardization”. Julius Evola
This pathetic tired refrain of hacking and Russia needs to be stopped. Has the USA not got enough problems without this insistence on lies,???
For cybercrime, go and talk to your best buddy Israel, the experts.
We’re all ‘concerned’ about some Russian ‘cyber invasion’, but I have to wonder just how much ‘cyber invading’ the US does to other nations? This is so much like the scene in ‘Casablanca’ when the police chief declares he’s SHOCKED there’s gambling going on in Rick’s club even as he’s being handed his cut of the night’s profits.
Check this out from WaPo to answer your question: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2016/07/29/america-is-hacking-other-countries-with-stealthy-submarines/
President Trump, through his speaker Pompeo, has today stated that the cyber attack came from Russia. Has Trump become “Deep State” himself?
Peskov is correct; amerikans complain about Russia because we are superior , not bad—-
“I hate Trump.” That is what they are saying.
It is just “Go team hate Trump.”
And then he responds and mentions China as a possibility. We’ve gone mad.
Gotta love the “speaking privately” ruse.
Two Deep State-enhancing warmongers in the image of John (Sang like a Canary while captive in Hanoi) McCain, who took every opportunity to spout off about getting American servicemen killed, wounded, or captured, and was a cheerleader for it.