The United States is ready to respond to possible attacks from Russia, including hackers, but Washington does not want to enter into a confrontation with Moscow. This was announced on February 15 by US President Joe Biden.
“We do not seek direct confrontation with Russia. Although I have made it clear that if Russia jeopardizes the Americans in Ukraine, we will respond strongly. And if Russia attacks the United States or our allies with asymmetric means like destructive cyberattacks on our companies or critical infrastructure, then we are ready to respond,” Biden said, speaking at the White House with a speech on the situation around Ukraine.
The United States, along with NATO allies and other partners, is actively “strengthening collective defense against threats in cyberspace,” he said.
At the same time, Biden said that Moscow and Washington are responsible for stability in the world community, and both countries should follow the path of diplomacy “for the sake of a common future.”
Earlier in the day, Reuters, citing the White House, said that the US authorities offered Ukraine assistance in investigating cyber attacks on government websites.
On February 15, the Information Security Center of Ukraine announced a DDoS attack on the websites of the Ministry of Defense, the armed forces, the state-owned Privatbank and Oschadbank. Later, Privatbank announced the elimination of the consequences of a DDoS attack and the resumption of the stable operation of its systems, while not excluding the possibility of further attacks.
In Ukraine, at the same time, it was admitted that Russia could allegedly be behind the attack. No evidence was provided.
A day earlier, the websites of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food were subjected to a massive cyber attack. The hackers posted messages warning residents of the country to “be afraid and expect the worst” and also promised to destroy the personal data of Ukrainians posted on the Web.
Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Sergei Demedyuk said that hackers associated with the intelligence services of Belarus are behind the cyber attack on Ukrainian departments. Later, a criminal case was opened on the fact of the cyber attack.
The Ministry of Digital Transformation (Ministry of Digital Transformation) of Ukraine accused Russia of involvement in the incident, assuring that the personal data of Ukrainians are under reliable protection in state registers.
Prior to that, on February 12, it became known that representatives of the US administration, US intelligence, the US Department of Homeland Security and other departments plan to help Kiev repel cyber attacks that could be carried out. As the Politico newspaper reported on February 9, US senators are proposing to add the possibility of introducing restrictions “for cyber attacks” on Ukraine to the bill on sanctions against the Russian Federation.