MOSCOW | Russia on Wednesday denounced “absurd” American accusations, reacting to recent statements by President Joe Biden and the White House which called on companies to better protect themselves from possible computer attacks led by Moscow.
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“These accusations against us are absurd,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Oleg Syromolotov said in a statement, accusing Washington of engaging in a “new outburst of Russophobia against the backdrop of the situation in Ukraine.”
“We are calling on senior White House officials to stop spreading dangerous gratuitous accusations,” he said, saying that “the greater number of cyberattacks against critical infrastructure sites in other countries are carried out from American territory”.
Joe Biden said on Monday that it was a “patriotic” duty for American companies to better protect themselves from possible computer attacks carried out by Russia in response to Western sanctions imposed on Moscow for its offensive in Ukraine.
“Russia could be preparing an action against us (…). Russia has substantial IT resources, and it will happen,” he said.
According to the White House, these computer attacks could notably target essential infrastructures, mainly operated and owned by the American private sector.