President Barack Obama on Thursday announced sweeping sanctions
against Russia in response to the country's cyberattacks in recent months.
Obama had promised action after
federal investigators determined Russia had conducted hacking operations to
interfere with the 2016 presidential election. The attacks included accessing emails from the Democratic
National Committee, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and her
campaign manager, John Podesta.
"All Americans should be
alarmed by Russia's actions," Obama said in a statement. "These data
theft and disclosure activities could only have been directed by the highest
levels of the Russian government."
The charges of election meddling
represent an escalation of tense relations between the two superpowers. Russia
and the US squared off through decades after the end of World War II that were
marked by the buildup of nuclear arsenals, showdowns in proxy nations, and
shadowy use of human and high-tech surveillance.
In recent years, the advent of
digital technologies -- not least the internet -- has led to new forms of
confrontation and skulduggery. That includes hacking of government and business
operations.
A spokesman for Russian President
Vladimir Putin said that Russia will consider retaliatory measures of its own, according to the Associated Press. Russia's
embassy in the United Kingdom responded to the sanctions with a tweet calling Obama a lame duck.
Russia has consistently denied any involvement in
hacking directed toward the US elections.
In October, the Department of
Homeland Security and the National Intelligence Office pointed the finger at Russia, saying that
"such activity is not new to Moscow -- the Russians have used similar
tactics and techniques ... to influence public opinion there."
On Thursday, the DHS and the FBI
expanded on that October joint statement, describing "malicious
cyber activity" by Russian intelligence services encompassed
under the name Grizzly Steppe. They released a report documenting technical
details of the methods used to "compromise and exploit" networks
associated with the US election and with other government, political and
private sector entities.
Thursday's actions come amid Obama's
last month in office. On January 20, Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 45th
president of the US. Trump has expressed skepticism about
Russian cyber attacks and influence on the US election.
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan said
in a statement Thursday that the sanctions were "overdue."
"Russia does not share
America's interests. In fact, it has consistently sought to undermine them,
sowing dangerous instability around the world," Ryan said.
Obama's
response
On Thursday, Obama issued an
executive order that gives US agencies more authority for responding to
cyberattacks. He also sanctioned Russia's two intelligence agencies, four
intelligence officers and three companies that helped in the cyberoperations.
The US Treasury Department,
meanwhile, has sanctioned Alexsey Belan and Evgeniy Mikhailovich Bogachev
for cyberattacks against the US. The two are on the FBI's most wanted list.
Belan is accused of hacking at least
three major US e-commerce companies, where he stole more than 200 million
accounts and sold the private information. Bogachev is accused of developing
and selling the Zeus malware, as well as
creating Cryptolocker, a ransom ware
program behind 120,000 hacks that stole more than $100 million from US
financial institutions and government agencies.
In addition, the US State Department
shut down two Russian compounds, in Maryland and New York, along with kicking
out the 35 Russian diplomats who worked there.
The FBI and the Department of
Homeland Security plans to release declassified information on Russia's
civilian and military intelligence cyberactivities, to help prevent Russia from
striking other nations with cyberattacks.
Obama has promised more actions
against Russia, some of which will not be made public. The US Cyber Command, an agency
with ties to the NSA and the US military, has the potential to launch a
counteroffensive as part of the US's retaliation.
The White House said it will also
provide Congress with a full report on Russia's cyberattacks in the coming
days.
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