U.S. President-elect Joe Biden speaks to reporters as he announces more nominees and nominees during a press conference at his transitional headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, on December 11, 2020.
Mike Segar | Reuters
WASHINGTON – President-elect Joe Biden said Thursday that the United States under his leadership would team up with allies to impose “substantial costs” on opponents involved in cyberattacks, such as the massive rape of government agencies and corporations. of the United States revealed earlier this month.
“A good defense is not enough; we must break and deter our opponents from carrying out major cyber attacks,” Biden said in a statement issued by his transition team.
“We will do so, among other things, by imposing substantial costs on those responsible for these malicious attacks, including in coordination with our allies and partners. Our opponents should know that, as President, I will not stand idly by in the face of cyber attacks against our nation “.
The statement is Biden’s first formal response as president-elect to the news of the cyberattack for months, which experts say has the characteristics of a Russian-sponsored operation.
It also points to a potential shift toward a tougher stance against Russian cyberwar tactics than that of the current Trump administration.
Biden noted that his new national security team has been informed of the attacks by career officials on relevant government agencies.
Wednesday night, the three main agencies responsible for investigating the attack and protecting the nation from cyber threats, the FBI, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency or CISA, and the Office of the Director of Intelligence National, they announced the formation of a joint command to respond to what they called “a major and ongoing cybersecurity campaign” against the United States.
“This is a developing situation and while we continue to work to understand the scope of this campaign, we know that this commitment has affected federal government networks,” the agencies said in a joint statement.
Both government agencies and private sector companies under attack are stepping up to develop a clearer picture of the full extent of non-compliance and the potential damage to U.S. cyber infrastructure and critical information systems. .
Initial investigation suggests the infringement was carried out using malicious code hidden in a widely used IT management software update by SolarWinds. Russia has denied any involvement in the attack.
This week, in a briefing with congressional officials, CISA officials “warned that the perpetrator of this attack is very sophisticated and that it will take weeks, if not months, to determine the total number of agencies affected by the ‘attack and the extent to which sensitive data and information may have been compromised’.
The CISA warning was revealed in a letter that House Democratic committee chairmen sent senior FBI, CISA and ODNI officials on Thursday, seeking more details about the attack.
This chronology suggests that it will be Biden, not outgoing President Donald Trump, who will be ultimately responsible for determining what retaliatory actions, if any, are warranted against those behind the attacks. Biden will take office on January 20.
Trump has not yet personally responded to the latest attack. White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said Tuesday the administration “is looking at it hard.”
But Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney, a frequent critic of Trump, called the White House’s unacceptable response to the attack on the attack.
Trump has maintained an unusually warm relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin during his four-year term, despite repeated attempts by the Kremlin to undermine U.S. elections and democratic processes and his cyberwar campaign.