Jakarta, CNN Indonesia –
President Donald Trump finally open the question voice cyber attacks a massive attack United States of America, Saturday (19/12).
Still, Trump has taken for granted the massive cyber attacks on US government agencies. According to him, everything was “under control”. He also did not show support for the statement of United States Secretary of State (US) Mike Pompeo.
Previously, Pompeo was the first US administration person to comment on the massive cyberattack that has hit government agencies and private companies in the US while Trump has yet to comment on Friday (18/12).
Pompeo firmly believes Russia is the mastermind behind the country’s worst cyber attack. The hacking in the US was massive, as around 18,000 organizations were infected with malicious code (malware) from March to June 2020.
He became the first U.S. government official to issue an open statement linking the cyber attack to the Kremlin.
“I have been fully briefed and everything is well under control,” Trump tweeted in his first public commentary on the hack.
“Russia Russia Russia is the song of priority when something happens” continued Trump’s tweet, citing possible Chinese involvement in this attack without including evidence.
Trump’s tweet has administration spokesmen scrambling to reconcile the conflicting decisions.
CNN said White House officials had made plans Friday to release a statement directly blaming Russia, before withdrawing suddenly for unclear reasons.
This is not the first time Trump has played down Russia’s role. Previously, he refused to acknowledge Moscow’s interference in the 2016 elections, despite the clear findings of US intelligence services.
Russia has denied any involvement in the recent attacks, but several incoming and outgoing government officials point to Moscow, and none in Beijing.
There was no immediate reaction from China.
The US Cyber Security and Infrastructure Agency said Thursday that the attack posed a “huge risk” and thwarting it would be “very complex”. It doesn’t identify the people behind it.
In a move apparently planned before news of the cyber attack emerged, the State Department on Saturday confirmed plans to close the two remaining US consulates in Russia, in Vladivostok and Yekaterinburg, because of “ongoing staffing challenges.”
Among the government agencies affected by the cyber attack, according to media reports, were the departments of State, Treasury, Trade and Homeland Security.
The National Institutes of Health and the Departments of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration, which manage the stockpile of nuclear weapons, were also targets for hacks.
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