US cyber attack claim ‘treason’, says Trump
President denies article’s claims America embedded ‘aggressive’ malware into Russia’s electric grid
DONALD TRUMP has reacted angrily to a newspaper article that claimed America had laid the groundwork for a potentially devastating cyber attack on Russia’s electric grid, describing its publication as a “virtual act of treason”.
According to a three-month investigation by The New York Times, increasingly sophisticated malware has been embedded in the Russian electricity system that could be activated to plunge the country into darkness in the event of a major confrontation.
The president yesterday denied the story and called the newspaper “cowards” and the “enemy of the people”.
The outburst came as it emerged Mr Trump may not have been informed of an escalation of digital incursions into Russia’s infrastructure in what is seen as a warning to Vladimir Putin to refrain from meddling in the US.
Pentagon and intelligence sources revealed to the newspaper a hesitation to give detailed briefings to Mr Trump for fear he may inadvertently disclose their strategy.
On Saturday night Mr Trump wrote on Twitter: “Do you believe that the failing New York Times just did a story stating that the United States is substantially increasing cyber attacks on Russia. This is a virtual act of treason by a once great paper so desperate for a story, any story, even if bad for our country.” “Also, not true!” he added.
New authorities were granted to US Cyber Command, the Defence Department branch responsible for cyberspace operations, last summer giving it greater autonomy to conduct its operations without presidential knowledge. While the US has placed surveillance probes into Russia’s electric grid for years, the deployment of more aggressive malware marked a serious escalation, officials told the newspaper.
Gen Paul Nakasone, the US Cyber Command chief, told Joint Forces Quarterly in February of the need to “defend forward” with “persistent engagement” suggesting a shift in tactics.
“It has gotten far, far more aggressive over the past year,” one senior intelligence official said. “We are doing things at a scale that we never contemplated a few years ago.”
The US is desperate to avoid a repeat of the Russian campaign of cyber meddling in the 2016 presidential elections. In April, Robert Mueller’s investigations confirmed US intelligence agencies’ findings that the Kremlin led an operation to sow division in the US and upend the election by using cyber attacks and social media as weapons. It was so successful, experts warned, they would almost certainly try again.
Last week John Bolton, Mr Trump’s national security adviser, said Russian digital targets were being considered.
“The purpose of which is to say to Russia or anybody else that’s engaged in cyber operations against us, ‘You will pay a price if we find that you are doing this’,” he said. “And we will impose costs on you until you get the point that it’s not worth your while to use cyber against us.”
It comes after years of warnings that Russia has embedded malware that could sabotage US power plants, oil and gas pipelines, or water supplies.