'Inexcusable silence': Romney savages Trump for failing to speak out on hacking scandal that the senator says is like 'Russian bombers repeatedly flying undetected over our country' - as president instead tweets about 'Russia hoax'
President Donald Trump tweeted about what he calls the 'Russia hoax' Friday morning – amid new revelations of what appears to be a massive hack being traced to Moscow that compromised huge swaths of the government.
Trump's tweet came as he is facing political criticism for failing to publicly acknowledge, no less counter, a cyber attack that officials suspect is yet another breach driven by a Russian foreign intelligence unit.
Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah compared the attack, which went undetected for months, to a long-range bomber.
President Donald Trump railed against the Russia probe Friday – but has yet to comment on a massive hack of U.S. government agencies that officials believe Moscow was behind
'What I find most astonishing is that a cyberhack of this nature is really the modern equivalent of almost Russian bombers reportedly flying undetected over the entire country,' he said in a tweet Thursday.
Romney said it revealed ‘alarming U.S. vulnerability,’ and called it an ‘apparent cyber warfare weakness.’ He called out ‘glaringly inadequate cyber defenses,’ and blasted ‘inexcusable silence and inaction from the White House. He said it was ‘past time for a national security re-set that prioritizes cybersecurity capabilities and defenses
Trump retweeted an article in the conservative Federalist website with a tag saying the FBI had been 'lying for years' about its crossfire hurricane probe of Trump associates with Russia ties.
'The Russia Hoax becomes an even bigger lie!' wrote Trump as he retweeted the article to his millions of followers.
Focusing on the Russia probe, which Trump repeatedly calls one of the greatest scandals in American history, came amid daily and hourly revelations about the hack.
Officials say the attack went undetected for nearly nine months, allowing the hackers free range in the affected networks, including at the Pentagon, FBI, Treasury, State Department and nuclear security agencies, and that the true scale of the stolen information may never be known.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said in a statement that the intrusion involved 'compromises of U.S. government agencies, critical infrastructure entities, and private sector organizations by an advanced persistent threat (APT) actor beginning in at least March 2020.'
'CISA has determined that this threat poses a grave risk to the Federal Government and state, local, tribal, and territorial governments as well as critical infrastructure entities and other private sector organizations,' it said.
Sen. Mitt Romney compared the breach to a long-range bomber
This June 6, 2013 file photo, shows the sign outside the National Security Agency (NSA) campus in Fort Meade, Md.All fingers are pointing to Russia as author of the worst-ever hack of U.S. government agencies. But President Donald Trump, long wary of blaming Moscow for cyberattacks has so far been silent
Trump's tweet came hours after the Energy Department said it, too, was impacted. Its National Nuclear Security Administration – which maintains the nation's massive nuclear stockpile – was targeted, according to press reports.
'There will be a price to pay for this,' vowed Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, in a floor speech on Thursday. 'This is nothing short of a virtual invasion by the Russians into critical accounts of the federal government.'
'When adversaries such as Russia torment us, tempt us, breach the security of our nation, we need to respond in kind,' said Durbin, though noting he was not calling for 'all-out war'.
Said President-elect Joe Biden: 'Our adversaries should know that, as president, I will not stand idly by in the face of cyber assaults on our nation.'
Officially, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has not publicly identified Russia as the source of the attack, and Russia denies involvement. But private security companies say that all signs point to the Kremlin.
Russia denies being behind the hack. U.S. intelligence determined Moscow was behind election hacking during the 2016 campaign.
Microsoft has been aiding the response, and said more than 40 government agencies, outside groups and IT companies got penetrated.
No comments