The US gets tough after Russian agents ‘try to hack into nuclear sites’
Sanctions imposed as countries unite following nerve agent attack
WASHINGTON last night hit Russia with fresh sanctions for interfering in the US election. Officials also disclosed that Kremlin cyber-agents had tried to infiltrate American nuclear facilities.
Nineteen individuals were targeted by the sanctions along with the FSB security agency, the successor to the KGB.
The measures – the strongest action so far by Donald Trump’s administration against Moscow – were not linked to the Salisbury spy case.
The US president stopped short of condemning the Kremlin for involvement in the nerve agent attack but said it ‘certainly looks like the Russians were behind it’.
A senior administration source said Russian hackers infiltrated parts of the American power supply grid – before being identified and ‘removed’.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement: ‘The administration is confronting and countering malign Russian cyberactivity, including their attempted interference in US elections, destructive cyberattacks, and intrusions targeting critical infrastructure.
‘These targeted sanctions are a part of a broader effort to address the ongoing nefarious attacks emanating from Russia.’
The Department of Homeland Security and FBI said there had been a ‘multi-stage intrusion campaign by Russian government cyber actors’.
They had targeted the computer networks of small commercial facilities ‘where they staged malware, conducted spear phishing [the sending of fake emails in a bid to harvest private data] and gained remote access into energy sector networks’.
The campaign targeted engineers and technical staff with access to industrial controls, which suggests the hackers were interested in disrupting plant activities – and potentially shutting down power supplies.
The new tranche of sanctions targeted five Russian organisations and 19 individuals. The measures will freeze their assets and stop them from travelling to the US. They will also bar American companies and individuals from doing business with them.
Among the organisations sanctioned was the Russian Federal Security Service, which is known by its acronym the FSB.
Thirteen of the 19 individuals named had already been indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller, who is looking into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia to win the election for Mr Trump.
They included Yevgeniy Viktorovich Prigozhin, a financial backer who is known as ‘Putin’s chef’.
Sergei Ryabkov, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, said that Russia would be responding with its own counter measures, the Russian state media news agency TASS said.
The sanctions came as a surprise to some in America as Mr Trump has been repeatedly soft on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
US intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential campaign using hacking and propaganda to tilt the race in Mr Trump’s favour.
Mr Trump was asked about the poisoning in the UK. He said: ‘It certainly looks like the Russians were behind it. And we’re taking it seriously, as are many others’.
The measures will freeze their assets