Preparing for Retaliation Against Russia, U.S. Confronts Hacking by China

nytimes ^ | 3/7/2021 | David E. Sanger, Julian E. Barnes and Nicole Perlroth

[bitt]

The proliferation of cyberattacks by rivals is presenting a challenge to the Biden administration as it seeks to deter intrusions on government and corporate systems.

Just as it plans to begin retaliating against Russia for the large-scale hacking of American government agencies and corporations discovered late last year, the Biden administration faces a new cyberattack that raises the question of whether it will have to strike back at another major adversary: China.

Taken together, the responses will start to define how President Biden fashions his new administration’s response to escalating cyberconflict and whether he can find a way to impose a steeper penalty on rivals who regularly exploit vulnerabilities in government and corporate defenses to spy, steal information and potentially damage critical components of the nation’s infrastructure.

The first major move is expected over the next three weeks, officials said, with a series of clandestine actions across Russian networks that are intended to be evident to President Vladimir V. Putin and his intelligence services and military but not to the wider world.

The officials said the actions would be combined with some kind of economic sanctions — though there are few truly effective sanctions left to impose — and an executive order from Mr. Biden to accelerate the hardening of federal government networks after the Russian hacking, which went undetected for months until it was discovered by a private cybersecurity firm. The issue has taken on added urgency at the White House, the Pentagon and the intelligence agencies in recent days after the public exposure of a major breach in Microsoft email systems used by small businesses, local governments and, by some accounts, key military contractors.

Microsoft identified the intruders as a state-sponsored Chinese group and moved quickly to issue a patch to allow users of its software to close

[bitt]

H/T Ymani Cricket
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FROM GAB:
@BeTallmadge
2h
·

“The Manchurian Biden admin. announces US cyberattacks against its enemies thru NYT before it actually happens!”

““A still secret doc signed by Pres. Trump in Aug 2018 giving the US Cyber Command broader authorities ..to conduct Day to Day, short-of-War skirmishes in cyberspace.. under the new (Biden) order, Cyber Command will have to bring operations of significant size & scope to the WH & allow the NSC to review or adjust those ops..””

[bgill]

It’s not very wise of him to keep poking the bears.

[brownsfan]

“Biden administration faces a new cyberattack that raises the question of whether it will have to strike back at another major adversary: China.”

Master Xi says there is no hacking, the Chinese are merely providing free backups to data. Xo Xiden agrees.

[PGR88]

The officials said the actions would be combined with some kind of economic sanctions — though there are few truly effective sanctions left to impose

US Deep State insanity over Russia is telling us what their real motives are - and this statement is very telling.

Russia’s Gov't has almost no debt, and even less in US$. It has already been sanctioned heavily, and has mostly de-dollarized. Its got a huge land mass, with a lot of resources, a strong military, and a relatively unified population. The US has little leverage. The CIA's use of puppets like Navalny has become a joke.

As to China, they now control a lot of our manufacturing - so its they who have leverage over us.

[Bill of Rights FIRST]

Yep, although there is NOTHING funny about it!!

[Grampa Dave]

Master Xi says there is no hacking, the Chinese are merely providing free backups to data. XoBiden agrees. >P>

Thanks To: budj

[Vaduz]

Biden thinks hacking is carving a turkey.