Pompeo Called Russia One of United States’ Enemies

The US Secretary of State announced Russian Federation’s involvement in a large-scale cyberattack in the United States, which affected dozens of government agencies, think tanks and IT companies. Russia is one of United States’’ enemies, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said. "I am asked all the time who our enemy is and the answer is that many want to undermine our way of life, our republic, our basic democratic principles. Without a doubt, Russia is on this list," he said on the air of a radio show American journalist Mark Levin. The text of the Friday, December 18, interview is published on the website of the US Department of State. The head of the American Foreign Ministry called Russian President Vladimir Putin a "real threat" to those "who love freedom." At the same time, the United States needs to be prepared for each of these risks, he further stressed. Pompeo accused Russia of targeting US nuclear missiles and large-scale cyberattack At the same time, Pompeo called Levin's assertion that the Russian Federation was aiming "large nuclear missiles" at the United States "quite real". "You are seeing the latest news on their cyberspace activity. We have been watching for a very long time as they use asymmetric means to try to take a position from which they could harm the United States," he said. Commenting on the large-scale hacker attack on American departments, non-governmental institutions and companies, Pompeo announced Russia's involvement in it. “I think that now we can say quite clearly that it was the Russians who took part in this action,” he said. Cyberattack on government agencies and companies in the United States Earlier it became known about a cyberattack on dozens of government agencies, non-governmental organizations and IT companies in the United States. On December 14, Washington confirmed that the Treasury and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) were the targets of a large-scale, well-prepared cyberattack from abroad. At the same time, a software called SolarWinds used by a number of US government agencies was hacked. Hackers could monitor what was happening on infected computers for almost 9 months. According to media reports, the attack began no later than March. Microsoft, which helped respond to the cyberattack, said it had identified more than 40 government agencies, think tanks, nongovernmental organizations and IT companies that were infiltrated by hackers. Institutions in the United States were mostly affected, but targets were also in Canada, Mexico, Belgium, Spain, the United Kingdom, Israel and the United Arab Emirates. The Cybersecurity Administration said on December 17 that it classified the hacker attack as a "serious threat" to the US administration, state and communal authorities, key infrastructure and businesses. The Washington Post and The New York Times reported on the hackers' connections with the Russian special services. Moscow has denied this information.