What's Behind Reports of US Cyberattacks Against Russia Days Before Election

US officials have repeatedly claimed that Russia, China and other countries have placed hidden malware in parts of US critical infrastructure.

The penetration by all sides appears to be in preparation for an all-out war in cyberspace, according to NBC News, which said it was briefed by a US intelligence official and given an opportunity to review highly classified documents.

Moreover, the White House accused Moscow of involvement in a series of hacking attacks, resulted in a bunch of leaked documents of the Democrat Party. Washington is also concerned that Kremlin-related hackers may try to interfere with the upcoming US presidential election.

Reports that US hackers have penetrated parts of Russia’s infrastructure making them vulnerable for cyberattacks are aimed to distract public attention from failures in domestic and foreign policy, said Russian lawmaker Sergei Zheleznyak.

"These reports are an irresponsible and dangerous information provocation aimed to distract attention from reputational failures in foreign and domestic policy before the presidential election in the US," Zheleznyak said in a statement for media.

At the same time, the lawmaker underscored, Russia’s security agencies and state information services should be prepared to repel any kinds of hostile activities.

"Maintenance of national security in the 21st century should be multidimensional, including the informational sphere," Zheleznyak pointed out.

Leonid Levin, head of the Information Policy Committee at the Russian State Duma, underscored that daily measures are taken to ensure the security of Russian information systems.

"All the required measures to maintain security in this field are taken daily. The quality of those measures doesn’t depend on reports in Western media," Levin was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti.

According to him, the level of security of Russia’s information system is stable and regularly monitored by special agencies.

"Moscow believes there is no need to react to such stovepiping," he added.

"Nevertheless, we’re concerned that such discussions and statements are prompted and sometimes publicly supported by different high-profile officials in the West," Levin said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also assured that Russia is taking all required measures to maintain its cyber and information security at the level corresponding to the actual challenges.

"Measures for ensuring cybersecurity and information security are being taken corresponding to the current moment as well as to the threats made toward us by other states on the official level," Peskov said.

In turn, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the Russian government expects the US to legally assess the reports about alleged cyberattacks on Russia’s infrastructure.

"Amid the emerging media reports about infiltration of US military hackers in Russian telecommunication and electronic systems as well as in Kremlin command systems, we expect the US authorities, including the White House and the State Department, to make a legal assessment of this information," Zakharova told journalists.

She added that the absence of official reaction from Washington would mean the "existence of the state cyberterrorism in the United States."

Russian security specialists should be prepared for possible threats from the US, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Russia's upper house of the parliament Konstantin Kosachev commented.

"There is no doubt that the US administration and intelligence are behind the leak, thus 'visualizing' the threats uttered earlier by US Vice President [Joe] Biden to use a cyberweapon against Russia," Kosachev added.

Kosachev also linked possible cyberattacks to the culmination of the election campaign in the United States.

In mid-October, US Vice President Joe Biden hinted that the US was considering to respond to cyberattacks allegedly carried out by Kremlin-related hackers.

We are sending a message [to Russia]… We have a capacity to do it… It will be at the time of our choosing, and under the circumstances that will have the greatest impact," Biden was quoted as saying by NBC News.

Biden’s threats can be regarded as an attempt to legitimize a cyberwar against Russia, according to Russian senator Alexei Pushkov.

​"Biden’s threats and reports on a US response to 'Russian hacker attacks' look like an attempt to politically legitimize a cyberwar against Russia," Pushkov wrote on Twitter Saturday.