MOSCOW, May 19. /TASS/. The US National Security Agency (NSA) alongside several other US intelligence agencies operate in cyberspace, Director of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Sergei Naryshkin said in a televised interview on Channel One on Wednesday.

When asked if the United States has "a secret army," as media reported, and if it could make cyberattacks, Naryshkin said, "There are private military companies. It is not a secret, but I have no information whether they are involved in hacking."

"However, it is an absolute fact that a few intelligence agencies of the United States, and the largest of them is the National Security Agency, are involved in cyberspace activities," he added.

On Monday, Newsweek reported that at least 60,000 people belong to the Pentagon’s secret army, which is out control of other government bodies. The US magazine says that over half of that 60,000-strong undercover force are members of special operations forces carrying out clandestine missions around the world. The second largest element are intelligence and counter-intelligence agents deployed abroad "with some degree of ‘cover’ to protect their true identities." Finally, the Pentagon’s newest group is "the clandestine army" engaged in cyber operations and in countering cyberattacks. Most of them remain on US soil.