Country says it’s continuously attacked by hackers

Jan 16, 2017 13:33 GMT  ·  By

A Russian official revealed that the country is the target of hundreds and sometimes thousands of cyberattacks every day, some of which are launched from the United States.

Russia is the country that’s most often blamed for cyberattacks against other nations, including the United States, which claims that Kremlin tried to disrupt the election process in 2016. But the country's Security Council head Nikolay Patrushev said Russia itself was a target for hackers.

In a public statement, Patrushev reveals that US authorities accusing Russia of hacking their systems are just false claims, as there’s no evidence of such activity.

“Obama's administration accuses Russia of hacking attacks without giving any proof, but deliberately ignores the fact that all major internet servers are located on US territory and are used by Washington for intelligence and other purposes aimed at retaining [US] dominance in the world,” he was quoted as saying.

Vladimir Putin’s website under attack

Additionally, the Russian official says his country itself is a target for hackers, who are trying to break into Kremlin government’s computers to steal data.

“Recently we have noted a significant increase in attempts to inflict harm on Russia's informational systems from external forces,” he said.

President Vladimir Putin is also one of the popular targets for hackers, and his website is continuously under attack, Patrushev revealed. There are days when the number of cyberattacks launched against Putin’s website exceeds one thousand, he said, and many of these attempts are launched from the United States, Europe, China, or India.

“However, it does not lead to a situation when we say that we know [US President Barack] Obama ordered [this attack] and the White House is behind it,” he continued.

More recently, Russian authorities revealed that foreign hackers planned to compromise the country’s banking system with a series of attacks, but local security experts managed to block them without causing any substantial interruption in activity.

On the other hand, there were reports that hackers managed to breach Russia’s Central Bank and steal millions of dollars, with local authorities reportedly arresting several suspects.