Pompeo: Russia ‘Pretty Clearly’ Behind Massive SolarWinds Cyberattack

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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, seen here during a conference earlier this month in Atlanta, told the Mark Levin Show that Russia was «pretty clearly behind a massive hack that breached multiple government agencies.

Tami Chappell/AFP via Getty Images

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SolarWinds, the IT company whose product was targeted in the hack, said that nearly 18,000 of its customers received a software update tainted with malware, beginning in March. The malicious code operated as a kind of Trojan horse, enabling hackers to stealthily access the systems of the affected agencies and companies.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency on Thursday acknowledged that the cyberattack «poses a grave risk to federal, state and local governments across the country — but refrained from directly attributing blame.

Unlike Trump, who has maintained silence on the situation, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have made it clear that they believe the Kremlin is behind what they are calling a «significant, sophisticated, and ongoing cybersecurity intrusion.

Russia, for its part, has denied playing a role in the operation.

In a joint statement on Thursday, the two highest-ranking members of the Senate Armed Services Committee said the attack «has the hallmarks of a Russian intelligence operation. In their statement, Sens. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., and Jack Reed, D-R.I., called upon the U.S. government to «do everything possible to counter it — something several other lawmakers have criticized the Trump administration for not doing.

«An incident of this magnitude and lasting impact requires an engaged and public response by the U.S. government, led by a President who understands the significance of this intrusion and who is actively marshaling a domestic remediation strategy and an international response, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., vice-chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence, said in a statement released Friday.

«It is extremely troubling that the President does not appear to be acknowledging, much less acting upon, the gravity of this situation, he added.

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— Senator Mitt Romney (@SenatorRomney) December 17, 2020

The criticism has come not just from Democrats, but from members of Trump’s own party, as well. One day before Warner’s statement, Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah also called out what he called «inexcusable silence and inaction from the White House.

«The cyber hack, he said, «is like Russian bombers have been repeatedly flying undetected over our entire country.

Asked about the criticism, Pompeo suggested that Trump had maintained his silence so as not to interfere with investigations into the incident.

«I saw this in my time running the world’s premier espionage service at the CIA. There are many things that you you’d very much love to say, ‘Well, I’m going to call that out,’ the secretary of state said. «But a wiser course of action to protect the American people is to calmly go about your business and defend freedom.