Britain and US blame ‘malicious’ Russian spies for one of biggest cyberattacks in history as Ukraine war fears grow
BRITAIN and the US have accused Russia's ‘malicious’ foreign intelligence agency of a major cyber attack affecting thousands of organisations including Nato and the European Parliament.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said it was "highly likely" that Russia’s SVR agency was behind the ‘malign’ SolarWinds hack.
Russia's ambassador Andrei Kelin was summoned to the Foreign Office and given a warning the UK will continue to work with allies "to call out and counter malign operations" by Moscow's spies.
The announcement came as the US announced it was expelling 10 Russian diplomats in response to the Kremlin's targeting of federal agencies and attempts to interfere in last year's presidential election.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the UK and US were determined to stand together against what he described as Russia's "malign behaviour".
"We see what Russia is doing to undermine our democracies," he said in a statement.
"The UK and US are calling out Russia's malicious behaviour, to enable our international partners and businesses at home to better defend and prepare themselves against this kind of action.
"The UK will continue to work with allies to call out Russia's malign behaviour where we see it."
The attack on the SolarWinds IT services firm - discovered last December - is believed to be one of the most serious cyber espionage attacks suffered by the US.
Russian hackers are believed to have infected its software with a malicious code enabling them to access the systems of at least nine US agencies and 18,000 organisations worldwide, including Nato and the European Parliament.
According to the National Cyber Security Centre assessment, the attack was carried out by a group of hackers known as Cozy Bear or The Dukes, which the FCDO said were linked to the SVR.
It said that it was part of a "wider pattern of cyber intrusions" by the Russian spy agency dating back at least a decade.
As well as expelling diplomats, the US administration said it was imposing sanctions on six Russian companies which supported Moscow's cyber activities and 32 individuals and entities accused of attempting to interfere in last year's presidential election.
A further eight people and entities linked to Russia's occupation of Crimea also face sanctions.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said: "These actions are intended to hold Russia to account for its reckless actions. We will act firmly in response to Russian actions that cause harm to us or our allies and partners."
In response, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned that America's "aggressive behaviour" would "undoubtedly trigger a resolute retaliation".
"Washington should realise that it will have to pay a price for the degradation of the bilateral ties," she said. "The responsibility for that will fully lie with the United States."
She said the foreign ministry had summoned the US ambassador for a "hard conversation".
The latest exchanges come amid rising tension between Washington and Moscow following a build-up of Russian forces on the border with Ukraine - seen by some analysts as an attempt by the Kremlin to test the resolve of the new US president.
In a telephone call earlier this week, US president Biden warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that the US would "act firmly in defence of its national interests".
Tensions are escalating as earlier Putin blocked all foreign warships from entering the waters of the Kerch Strait after Biden sent two Navy battleships to the region but called them off.
White House officials decided not to send the ships to avoid needlessly escalating the situation with Russia over the Ukraine, a US defence official told .
Kiev earlier accused Moscow of 'openly' threatening Ukraine with 'destruction' by stationing 80,000 troops along its eastern border - with thousands more arriving by the day - as it called on western allies to intervene.
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Dmytro Kuleba, the country's foreign minister, warned of “very painful consequences” if Putin invades as he said “words are not enough” and allies would need to provide practical support.
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It comes as US military chief Tod Wolters has warned of the risk of a Russian invasion of Ukraine in the coming weeks, as Vladimir Putin continues shoring up troops, artillery and tanks at the border.
There is a “low to medium risk” of Putin taking the next step and invading Ukraine in the next few weeks, cautioned the head of US forces in Europe, General Wolters.
