Russia has been formally blamed and sanctioned by the Biden administration for its part in the huge SolarWinds hack, which compromised computer systems in various government departments and private companies. President Biden released an executive order on April 15 that imposed a slew of economic sanctions on a number of Russian financial institutions, technology firms, and individuals accused of taking part in “harmful international activities,” including, though not limited to, the hack.
Biden said his administration believed that the Russian government “interfered in our elections” and was behind the “totally unacceptable” SolarWinds hack in a short speech discussing today’s behavior. Biden said he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday to inform him of the steps, but added that he hoped the two countries’ relationship would remain stable and fruitful going forward, with the two leaders probably meeting in person for a summit in the summer. Biden said, “I was clear with President Putin that we could have gone further, but I chose not to do so.” “Now is the time to calm down.”
The series of attacks, which were first identified in December and were related to software made by the Texas-based software company SolarWinds, penetrated at least nine federal agencies, including the Commerce, Energy, and Justice Departments, as well as more than 100 private companies, according to the Biden administration. Under the Trump administration, officials were initially reluctant to assign blame for the hack — or even accept its presence — but ultimately said the attack was “possibly Russian in origin.” Trump said very little, also implying that it was China, not Russia, who was behind it. Russia has maintained its denial of any involvement.
The hacks are thought to have started in March 2020 and were carried out using SolarWinds’ Orion Platform network monitoring tools. The hackers were able to inject malware into Orion Platform software updates, giving them access to those systems once they were installed. A supply chain attack is what this is known as. There were concerns that the attack would impact thousands of SolarWinds’ government and private clients at one point. The hack was only discovered when a cybersecurity firm that specializes in hacking techniques discovered that its own networks had been compromised.
In comparison to his predecessor, Biden, then a presidential candidate, stated that his administration would do everything possible to strengthen its own cybersecurity protections, which the hack revealed to be woefully inadequate, and that the breach would be a “top priority.” Biden also promised the perpetrators “substantial costs.”
Four months later, the Biden administration is officially identifying the Russian Intelligence Service (SVR) as the perpetrators of the hack, which it claims includes the Cozy Bear, APT29, and The Dukes parties. Previous hacks on government structures, the Democratic National Committee, and even organizations doing research on Covid-19 and vaccine production have been blamed on this party. It’s been linked to Russian intelligence for a long time, despite Russia’s denials.
