MOSCOW, April 27. /TASS/. The United States has provided no information to prove Russian nationals’ alleged complicity in hacking the SolarWinds software, Deputy Director of Russia’s National Coordination Center for Computer Incidents Nikolai Murashov told an online briefing on cyber security on Tuesday.
"American colleagues do not bother to transfer any information that would make it possible to judge whether certain Russian citizens were complicit in these attacks," he said.
Murashov stressed that international cooperation in this field was essential. "All of our calls to the US side for international cooperation in investigating such incidents remain unanswered," he said.
Murashov blamed the hacking of SolarWinds software that endangered 16,000 computers, including some being used by US government organizations, on the developer’s mistakes and failure to observe the necessary security requirements.
"When a house owner leaves the windows wide open, locks the door with a thin stick and stays out for a whole day, of course he may eventually blame a neighbor for burgling his home or committing some other unlawful actions. Although in reality the neighbor’s sole fault is he once reproached the careless dweller for dumping garbage on a common road. Yet, as practice shows, our US counterparts often manage to lay the blame at somebody else’s door," Murashov said.
Official contacts
The US did not officially contact Moscow over the cyberattacks, attributed to Russia, Nikolai Murashov continued.
"Unfortunately, our American partners are more prone to megaphone diplomacy, diplomacy through the media, and refrain from messaging via official sources. We received no messages via the existing channels of communications, which proved to be quite capable," he told the online briefing.
Earlier, the US accused Russia of involvement in the recent cyberattack via the SolarWinds software. Besides, the US media reported, citing experts, about possible massive cyberattacks on Russian informational resources as a response measure.
Murashov noted that the Coordination Center tracks all information, including that emerging in the media, as well as coming from colleagues from response groups in various countries. This information is being analyzed and disseminated among Russian infrastructure facilities.
"Measures on strengthening [the infrastructure’s] security are being taken constantly; and, naturally, after such claims, we sent proposals on improvement of security to the owners of these facilities. In my opinion, these proposals played its role, but this work takes place not only on the heels of various political statements; this work must take place constantly," the official said.
On April 15, the United States imposed sanctions on Russia because, it argues, the Russian intelligence was responsible for hacking SolarWinds software and also meddling in the US presidential election. Moscow has dismissed these charges more than once.
National Coordination Center for Computer Incidents
The National Coordination Center for Computer Incidents was established in September 2018 by the order of the Federal Security Service director in the wake of the presidential order on establishment of the state system of detection, prevention and elimination of consequences of computer attacks on Russian informational resources.