Mike Pompeo links US cyberattack to Russia

• U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accuses Russia of being behind the hack that got through government and private companies.
• The FBI said that only a national level resource and capability can launch such a cyberattack.
• Russian parliament’s Committee on International Affairs chairman denied Russia was behind the attack, saying the U.S will not solve a problem with its response.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

During an interview on Friday at the “Mark Levin Show,” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that he is certain that the one responsible for the hack that penetrated numerous firms and federal agencies were Russia.

Amongst those companies that were at risk was the cybersecurity firm FireEye.

He added that while they are still scrutinizing the details, he believes Russia is linked to the cyberattack.

Pompeo, when inquired if President Donald Trump would be vocal during the probe, said that it will be wiser sometimes to just be calm and just continue to carry out the duty and protect freedom.

Leading U.S. cybersecurity company FireEye,  with several government dealings, first reported the cyber hack early this month. In a blog post by the company blog post, CEO Kevin Mandia described the incident as an attack by a country with resources and top-caliber capabilities. Afterward, he added that the attacker’s possible goal is to get the details of the firm’s government contacts.

The FBI also mirrored FireEye’s theory, saying that whoever ordered the cyberattack has a complexity level that may only available to that of a country.

The group behind may have gain access to the computer systems by first breaching SolarWinds, a company based in Austin that offers remote data technology services to a record of clients all over the world, including several U.S. government departments and large corporations.

 As a response, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency released an advisory, telling federal departments to instantly opt-out using the affected products by SolarWinds.

In a Twitter post, the head of the Russian parliament’s Committee on International Affairs criticized Pompeo, saying that he is suffering from “anti-Russian fever.”  He added that shutting down the U.S. Consulates General in Russia and categorizing Moscow as a foe will not solve any problems, noting that the attack is coming from them but from the American government through its “aggressive policy.”

According to reports, the cyberattack has been going on since March but it was only uncovered recently. Microsoft said that technology and information enterprises were also affected.

Meanwhile, Homeland Security and Oversight Committee members confirmed on Friday that they were updated about the incident but more questions emerged than answers.

State Department authorities also confirmed on Friday that two more U.S. consulates in Russia would be closed, explaining that the decision was to “to optimize the work of the U.S. mission in Russia.”

Source: AOL