U.S. swats Russia for hacking
Moscow calls Obama administration ‘losers’
HONOLULU (AP) — The United States struck back Thursday at Russia for hacking the U.S. presidential campaign with a sweeping set of punishments targeting Russia’s spy agencies and diplomats. The U.S. said Russia must bear costs for its actions, but Moscow called the Obama administration “losers” and threatened retaliation.
A month after an election the U.S. says Russia tried to sway for Donald Trump, President Barack Obama sanctioned the GRU and FSB, leading Russian intelligence agencies the U.S. said were involved. Those sanctions could easily be pulled back by Trump, who has insisted that Obama and the Democrats are merely attempting to delegitimize his election. public evidence, he suggested he
In an elaborately co-ordinated response was keeping an open mind. by at least five federal agencies, “In the interest of our country the Obama administration also and its great people, I will meet sought to expose Russia’s with leaders of the intelligence cyber tactics with a detailed community next technical report and week in order to be updated hinted it might still launch on the facts of this a covert counterattack. situation,” Trump said.
“All Americans should As part of the punishment, be alarmed by Russia’s the U.S. also actions,” Obama said, kicked out 35 Russian adding, “Such activities diplomats who the U.S. have consequences.” said were actually intelligence
He said the response Obama operatives, and wasn’t over and the U.S. could take shut down Russian compounds in further, covert action — a thinly New York and Maryland. veiled reference to a counterstrike The U.S. said those actions were in cyberspace the U.S. has been in response to Russia’s harassment considering. of U.S. diplomats, calling it
Trump issued a statement saying part of a pattern of aggression it was “time for our country to that included the cyberattacks move on to bigger and better on the Democratic National things.” Yet in the face of newly Committee and Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman.
It was the strongest action the Obama administration has taken to date to retaliate for a cyberattack, and more comprehensive than last year’s sanctions on North Korea after it hacked Sony Pictures Entertainment.
The new penalties add to existing U.S. sanctions over Russia’s actions in Ukraine, which have impaired Russia’s economy but had limited impact on President Vladimir Putin’s behaviour.
Russia, which denied the hacking allegations, called the penalties a clumsy yet aggressive attempt to “harm Russian-American ties.”
Maria Zakharova, a Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, took to Facebook to call the Obama administration “a group of foreign policy losers, angry and ignorant.”