The cyber attack ignites disputes and accusations in the US as Trump acquiesces Russia and Biden threatens and China enters the crisis line

US President Donald Trump played down the seriousness of the cyber-attack that targeted government agencies, and Russia’s responsibility for it, hinting at the possibility of China’s involvement in it, while statements condemning Trump’s position came from US officials, amid promises from President-elect Joe Biden’s team to confront Russia.

Trump said that the issue of cyber piracy is not as massive as what he called fake media claims.

Trump added – in two tweets – that he is fully aware of the issue, and that everything is under control, considering that the accusation is always directed at Russia because the media – for financial reasons – are afraid to refer to China, which could be responsible for this.

“The cyber-attack is more important in pseudo-media than it really is,” he said in the tweet, adding, “Everything is under control. 

Russia, Russia, Russia, this is the first to hesitate when something happens”, he added, “It may be China, this is possible”.

By doing so, Trump contradicted the opinion of US officials and the position of his Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, who directly accused Moscow of being behind the large-scale cyber-attacks that targeted US government agencies, including the Treasury Department and the Nuclear Security Administration.

Pompeo said that work is underway to assess what happened, stressing that some information will remain confidential, and stressing that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a threat to freedom-lovers.

“Yes, Vladimir Putin poses a real threat to those who love freedom among us… and we must ensure a permanent readiness to confront him and his ilk… Today I classify China as a challenge that poses a real existential threat,” he said. 

But I do not underestimate the importance of the challenge posed by Russia’s possession of hundreds of nuclear warheads capable of reaching US soil.

It is a huge danger that threatens us as well”.

In the context of the reactions, US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that the cyber-attacks that targeted a number of federal agencies are large and far-reaching, and considered them worrying evidence that the actors are still bent on undermining national security and American democracy.

For his part, the Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff, described President Trump’s tweet on the piracy as “another blatant betrayal” of the President of US national security.

Schiff added that Trump’s tweet appeared to be written in the Kremlin, and said it was another sluggish act in front of Putin, and another reason why Trump did not want to leave office quickly.

Schiff accused Russia of seeking, through the recent cyber-attacks, to gather intelligence and cause economic damage to the United States.

In an interview with MSNBC, he called for looking into what he described as the comprehensiveness of Russian actions, criticizing the absence of any deterrence on the part of the Trump administration.

Also, a Democratic member and a member of the House Intelligence Committee, Raja Krishnamurthy, said that all evidence indicates that Russia is responsible for the attacks, and asked in an interview with CNN, “Why does President Trump not want to make Russia face the consequences of these? Attacks? ”

Republican Senator Mitt Romney criticized Trump’s statements, and said in an interview with “CNN” that no one in the intelligence services doubts that Russia is behind this attack, but Trump “blinds himself from everything related to Russia,” warning of the possibility of a repeat of these attacks.

In turn, the former director of the US Cybersecurity Agency, Chris Krebs, ruled out that the attacks were intended to harm the country’s economy, and told CNN that the Russian intelligence services were seeking to collect intelligence and spy on political decisions and diplomatic negotiations, and that these attacks might be wider than the Americans think.

As for Kevin Mandia, CEO of FireEye, which revealed the cyber-attack, he said that what happened was a large attack and different from previous attacks.

Speaking to CBS, Mandia added that failure to respond to this attack would violate the rules of the game, and would push the hackers to expand their horizons in future attacks.

For his part, Democratic Representative Jason Crowe said that the time has come to speak seriously, and that a dangerous opponent of the United States has now reached the defense, intelligence, policing, and financial institutions of the United States.

Crowe – a member of the House Intelligence and Armed Services Committee – indicated that although this attack is the largest in American history, Trump reduces its severity, diverts the blame from Russia, threatens to issue a veto against the Defense Ministry’s budget, and he expels defense and cyber security officials.

Pelosi: Hacking is disturbing evidence that actors remain intent on undermining national security.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press said that President Donald Trump’s tweets that played down the significance of the hack and pointed fingers at China, surprised US officials.

The agency added that the White House was preparing a statement linking Russia to the process of electronic piracy, but officials were informed to stop this.

The senior Democrat in the Senate Intelligence Committee, Mark Warner, said that the latest cyber-attack is likely to continue, noting that initial data shows that the parties behind it are very professional, accusing Russia of responsibility.

Warner expressed concern about this attack, warning that America’s adversaries could have access to its most important means of innovation.

For its part, CNN quoted 3 sources that it described as well-informed, that those responsible for monitoring electronic risks on the most important US infrastructure have been aware for months of suspicious activities, and that these activities have only now been linked to the widespread electronic piracy that the United States has been exposed to recently.

The network quoted two unnamed sources that the initial investigations did not show any confidential data breach, but it is continuing to find out whether the hackers were able to obtain government information.

Ron Klein, the White House chief of staff in the Biden administration, said that the incoming administration would not only impose sanctions on those involved in the espionage process, but would also take steps to limit the perpetrators’ ability to repeat this type of attack.

For her part, Biden’s candidate for the Department of Energy, Jennifer Granholm, told ABC that the next administration is taking what is happening about cyber-attacks very seriously, stressing that Biden will have a strong response to what happened.

Reuters reported that Biden’s transition team is looking into strong options to punish Russia for cyber-attacks, once it reaches the White House.

In Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin called for developing the work of Russian intelligence services in combating cybercrime, terrorism, extremism and corruption crimes.

Putin stressed in a speech on Sunday, the importance of the foreign intelligence service continuing its role in neutralizing potential threats, and responding flexibly to the changing international situation, according to him.

Reuters reported, Saturday evening, that the US National Security Council spokesman John Eliot said that his country would respond appropriately to those behind the cyber-attack.

Eliot added that the council is focusing on investigating the circumstances surrounding the cyber-attack, and working with other agencies to contain the situation.

For its part, US media said that officials in the Trump administration had submitted a proposal to separate the National Security Agency and cyber leadership.

It is noteworthy that while the United States is investigating the damage it suffered from the cyber-attack, which officials are likely to have launched last March, NATO announced that after examining its information systems, it did not find evidence that it has been hacked.

As for Britain, it said it is working with its international partners to understand the extent of piracy and its impact on it.