Moscow: US-Russian Channel to Share Data on Cyberattacks Has Never Been Used

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Washington has hardly ever used the mechanism devised to allow Russia and the United States to provide one another with information pertaining to cyberthreats, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Tuesday, amid ongoing allegations that Russia perpetrated cyberattacks against the United States.

"This mechanism was activated by the previous administration. We have a special mechanism for informing each other, the two capitals about cyberattacks… Many statements have been made — by [former Secretary of State John] Kerry, [former US President Barack] Obama, [former Secretary of State Hillary] Clinton — but this mechanism has virtually never been used," Zakharova told Russia's Komsomolskaya Pravda radio station.

Zakharova specified that according to this mechanism, in the event the United States suspected a cyberattack coming from Russia, then states’ respective services should exchange the necessary information on the matter.

In late 2016, reports emerged suggesting that US intelligence discovered an alleged Russian hack of Republican National Committee (RNC) computers during the election campaign, but no leaks followed this revelation. The Democratic National Committee's (DNC) computers were also hacked this summer, resulting in a number of compromising leaks.

The CIA claimed that Russia deliberately targeted Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign because it wanted then Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump to win the election. The FBI has reportedly reached the opposite conclusion from the same raw intelligence. Moscow has repeatedly refuted the allegations.