Russia Says SolarWinds Hack Blame May Be Trump Admin Ploy to Ruin Putin-Biden Ties

Russia Says SolarWinds Hack Blame May Be Trump Admin Ploy to Ruin Putin-Biden Ties

Russia has said the blame it faces for the cyber attack that targeted U.S. federal institutions could be a ploy by the Trump administration to sabotage ties between the Kremlin and President-elect Joe Biden.The hackers attached malware to a software update for SolarWinds' Orion system in an attack that has so far infected computer systems at the heart of the U.S. government, including the departments of Treasury, Commerce, and Energy.With experts warning the breach may take years and cost billions of dollars to fix, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said that the attack has also affected state and local governments, as well as critical infrastructure entities and other private sector organizations.Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Russia was behind the breach, a theory backed up by outgoing Justice Department chief, Attorney General William Barr.On Thursday, Moscow again denied responsibility, with Russian foreign affairs spokesperson Maria Zakharova suggesting that it may be a ruse to undermine any chance of a new U.S. administration from repairing relations with the Kremlin, which are already at a low.A computer user is shown in this illustrative image. Russia denies it was behind a massive cyber hack on U.S. federal institutions.

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