THE Kremlin on Tuesday rejected US warnings that it may be preparing to conduct cyber attacks in response to Western sanctions, and said it did not engage in “banditry”.
US President Joe Biden on Monday told businesses to do more to protect themselves against possible cyber attacks by Russia, warning there was “evolving intelligence” that Moscow was exploring options on that front.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters: “The Russian Federation, unlike many Western countries, including the United States, does not engage in state-level banditry.”Russia has previously rejected similar allegations, including accusations that it was responsible for hacks on Ukrainian banking and government websites in February.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby on Tuesday said the US Department of Defense has not suffered any cyberattacks, adding that US officials were open with American business leaders at Monday’s meeting about the likely risk to corporations.
“We haven’t seen anything affect our infrastructure or critical US government infrastructure,” he told MNSBC. “We wanted to make sure that leaders knew and were aware that the Russians would probably try this kind of tactic going forward.
“Important US companies that provide critical infrastructure should improve their cyber defenses, but there was “no certainty” such an attack would occur, senior White House cybersecurity official Anne Neuberger said on Monday.
– AFP
