US President-elect Joe Biden speaks to reporters as he announces more nominees and appointees at a press conference at his transition headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, Dec. 11, 2020.
Mike Segar | Reuters
WASHINGTON – President-elect Joe Biden said on Thursday that the United States under his leadership would join allies to impose “significant charges” on opponents engaged in cyber-attacks, such as the massive breach of US government agencies and businesses announced earlier this month. disclosed.
“A good defense is not enough; we have to disrupt our opponents in the first place and stop them from carrying out major cyber-attacks,” Biden said in a statement from his transition team.
We will do that by, among other things, imposing substantial charges on those responsible for such malicious attacks, including in coordination with our allies and partners. Our opponents need to know that as President I will not stand idly by in light of cyber attacks on our nation. “
The statement is Biden’s first formal response as president-elect to news of the sweeping month-long cyber attack, which experts say bears the hallmarks of a Russian state-sponsored operation.
It also hints at a possible shift to a tougher stance on Russia’s cyber warfare tactics than that of the current Trump administration.
Biden noted that his upcoming national security team has been briefed on the attacks by career officials at relevant government agencies.
On Wednesday evening, the three leading agencies responsible for investigating the attack and protecting the country from cyber threats, the FBI, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence announced the formation of a joint order to respond to what they called “an important and ongoing cybersecurity campaign” against the United States.
“This is a developing situation, and while we continue to work to understand the full scope of this campaign, we know that this compromise has affected networks within the federal government,” the agencies said in a joint statement.
Both government agencies and private sector companies targeted by the attack are rushing to gain a clearer picture of the full extent of the breach and the potential damage to US cyber infrastructure and critical information systems.
The initial investigation suggests that the breach was carried out via malicious code hidden in a software update from widely used IT management company SolarWinds. Russia has denied any involvement in the attack.
In a briefing with Congressional staffers this week, CISA officials warned “ that the perpetrator of this attack is highly sophisticated and that it will take weeks, if not months, to determine the total number of agencies affected by the attack and the extent in which sensitive data and information may have been compromised. “
The CISA’s warning was disclosed in a letter sent by House Democratic committee chairmen to top FBI, CISA and ODNI officials on Thursday, seeking more details about the attack.
This timeline suggests that it will be Biden, and not outgoing President Donald Trump, who is ultimately responsible for determining what retaliatory measures, if any, are warranted against those behind the attacks. Biden will take office on January 20.
Trump has yet to personally respond to the latest attack. White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said on Tuesday that the government is “looking closely at this.”
But Republican Utah Senator Mitt Romney, a frequent Trump critic, called the White House’s lukewarm response to the attack “inexcusable.”
Trump has maintained an unusually warm relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin during his four years in office, despite the Kremlin’s repeated attempts to undermine US elections and democratic processes and its cyberwarfare campaign.