Russia: Reported US plans for cyber strike ‘alarming’

Russia on Tuesday expressed concerns over reported plans by the Biden administration to wage a series of retaliatory actions in response to large-scale hacking of U.S. government agencies. 

According to Reuters, the Kremlin specifically cited a Sunday report from The New York Times that referenced officials who said the Biden administration will first respond over the next three weeks with “a series of clandestine actions across Russian networks,” combined with economic sanctions and an executive order from President Biden to bolster federal cybersecurity. 

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday called the report “alarming.”

“This would be pure international cyber crime,” he added, Reuters reported. 

The remarks come amid increased pressure on the Biden administration to respond to two major cyber incidents affecting the U.S. that have been unveiled in recent months. 

The first compromise involved suspected Russian hackers who exploited software from IT group SolarWinds to breach at least nine federal agencies and 100 private-sector groups.

Microsoft announced the second breach last week, stating that a Chinese state-sponsored hacking group had exploited previously unknown vulnerabilities in its Exchange Server email application.

Thousands of private-sector groups and local governments throughout the U.S. were believed to be affected by the second breach as early as January.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki has told reporters that the Biden administration plans on responding to the SolarWinds hack through actions against Russia in “weeks, not months.”