Reprisals for hack of US agencies may fall to Biden

WASHINGTON – Fingers are pointing to Russia as the source of the worst-ever hack of U.S. government agencies. But President Donald Trump, long wary of blaming Moscow for cyberattacks, has been silent.

The lack of any statement seeking to hold Russia responsible casts doubt on the likelihood of a swift response and suggests any retaliation – whether through sanctions, criminal charges or cyber actions – will be left in the hands of President-elect Joe Biden’s administration.

To be sure, it’s not uncommon for administrations to refrain from leveling public accusations of blame for hacks until they’ve accumulated enough evidence. Here, U.S. officials say they only recently became aware of devastating breaches at multiple government agencies in which foreign intelligence agents rooted around undetected for as much as nine months.

But Trump’s response, or lack thereof, is being closely watched because of his preoccupation with a fruitless effort to overturn the results of last month’s election and because of his reluctance to consistently acknowledge that Russian hackers interfered in the 2016 presidential election in his favor.

Exactly what action Biden might take is unclear, or how his response might be shaped by criticism that the Obama administration did not act aggressively enough to thwart interference in 2016. He offered clues in a statement Thursday, saying his administration would be proactive in preventing cyberattacks and impose costs on any adversaries behind them.