Biden chief of staff says hack response will go beyond 'just sanctions'

[webfact]

Biden chief of staff says hack response will go beyond 'just sanctions'

By Raphael Satter

 

FILE PHOTO: Ebola Response Coordinator Ron Klain (C) listens to U.S. Vice President Joe Biden (R) while seated next to Special Assistant to the President Gayle Smith (L) as they meet with organization leaders that are responding to the Ebola crisis while in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington, November 13, 2014. REUTERS/Larry Downing

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The incoming White House chief of staff said on Sunday that President-elect Joe Biden's response to the massive hacking campaign uncovered last week would go beyond sanctions.

 

Ron Klain said Biden was mapping out ways to push back against the suspected Russian hackers who have penetrated half a dozen U.S. government agencies and left thousands of American companies exposed.

 

"It's not just sanctions. It's steps and things we could do to degrade the capacity of foreign actors to engage in this sort of attack," Klain said on CBS' "Face the Nation."

 

Options being mulled by the Biden administration to punish Moscow over its alleged role include financial penalties and retaliatory hacks on Russian infrastructure, people familiar with the matter have told Reuters.

 

The Kremlin denies any role in the hacking. Speaking at an event to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Russia's SVR foreign intelligence agency, Russian President Vladimir Putin praised its work, saying he was impressed by the "difficult professional operations that have been conducted."

 

Biden, who becomes president on Jan. 20, would likely have bipartisan support for a muscular reaction to the espionage campaign, lawmakers indicated on Sunday.

 

The incoming White House chief of staff said on Sunday that President-elect Joe Biden's response to the massive hacking campaign uncovered last week would go beyond sanctions. This report produced by Freddie Joyner.

 

Republican Senator Mitt Romney said the data breach was "extraordinarily damaging" on NBC's "Meet the Press."

 

"This demands a response," he said. "This is something we have to address as soon as possible."

 

U.S. Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on ABC that the hack could still be going on and that officials had yet to determine its full scope. But he stopped short of the aggressive language used by Romney, who called the hack "an invasion".

 

"This is in that gray area between espionage and an attack," Warner said. Still, he backed Romney's call for retaliation, saying Washington needed to make clear to adversaries "that if you take this kind of action we and others will strike back."

 

Adam Schiff, the Democratic chair of the House Intelligence Committee, also said the United States would "have to deter and respond" - but also invest more in cyber defenses.

 

He told MSNBC that, in some cases, the digital cleanup of U.S. networks "may mean burning down the whole system in order to make sure when we rebuild it they're not present."

 

Officials and cybersecurity professionals across the United States are still struggling to get their hands around the scale of the hacking campaign, which used U.S. tech company SolarWinds as a springboard to infect the Texas firm's clients - including the Departments of Treasury, Commerce and Energy.

 

Up to 18,000 customers were left open to the hackers, but CEO Kevin Mandia - whose company FireEye helped uncover the hacking - told CBS that he estimated "only around 50 organizations or companies, somewhere in that zone," were "genuinely impacted."

 

Klain told CBS much was still unknown.

 

"I think there's still a lot of unanswered questions about the purpose, nature, and extent of these specific attacks," he said.

 

(Reporting by Idrees Ali, Susan Heavey, and Raphael Satter; Writing by Raphael Satter and Scott Malone; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall, Lisa Shumaker and Daniel Wallis)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-12-21

 

- Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you

- Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

[TopDeadSenter]

7 minutes ago, webfact said:

Options being mulled by the Biden administration to punish Moscow over its alleged role include financial penalties and retaliatory hacks on Russian infrastructure

Retaliatory hacks? Absolutely pathetic response but this is the democrats I remember. Thirsting for overseas confrontations with no clear strategy, and an abundance of vindictive pettiness. Please tell how getting in a huff and trying to hack Russia in retaliation will help Americans?

[Sujo]

2 minutes ago, TopDeadSenter said:

Retaliatory hacks? Absolutely pathetic response but this is the democrats I remember. Thirsting for overseas confrontations with no clear strategy, and an abundance of vindictive pettiness. Please tell how getting in a huff and trying to hack Russia in retaliation will help Americans?

Please show me where it says they are going to hack russia.

[ChouDoufu]

33 minutes ago, webfact said:

"This demands a response," he said. "This is something we have to address as soon as possible."

 

it certainly does.

 

the usa has a long and glorious history of hacking other nations.  this time we got caught with our defenses down.  that's just the way the game is played. 

 

the response is not to make everything public, to enact sanctions, to start bombing, to lash out and "make 'em pay."  the answer is to quietly upgrade our defenses to prevent a repeat.  that we will (continue to) hack them goes without saying.  so don't say it.

 

part of not doing everything publicly is not letting the "bad guys" know how effective they were.  well, unless all the publicity, now, is to box in the incoming administration and limit their diplomatic options.

[Tug]

Good !enough of trumps humping Putin’s leg make them howl!

[LomSak27]

And as one would expect, President Trump is basically absent from the News Report above. . He did try to deflect saying it was China, even as US sec of state;  Mike Pompeo acknowledged it was the Russians and Trumps good friend Putin, responsible for this hack. Other than that nothing, he is like a ghost these last months. Not doing anything as the  Pandemic soars to historic new levels in the US. Granted he has been exploring the possibilities of declaring Martial Law, beyond that, nothing. Good to know Biden is on this and Putin's Russia will be punished.

[Scott]

Troll post with false information has been removed along with a reply.

 

[Chomper Higgot]

1 hour ago, TopDeadSenter said:

Retaliatory hacks? Absolutely pathetic response but this is the democrats I remember. Thirsting for overseas confrontations with no clear strategy, and an abundance of vindictive pettiness. Please tell how getting in a huff and trying to hack Russia in retaliation will help Americans?

And the response from your boy was, defend Russia, blame China.

[OneMoreFarang]

Will the USA continue to pretend that they don't do the most espionage in this world?

 

[Salerno]

8 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Will the USA continue to pretend that they don't do the most espionage in this world?

 

Thought that was the Brits?

[Jeffr2]

1 hour ago, TopDeadSenter said:

Retaliatory hacks? Absolutely pathetic response but this is the democrats I remember. Thirsting for overseas confrontations with no clear strategy, and an abundance of vindictive pettiness. Please tell how getting in a huff and trying to hack Russia in retaliation will help Americans?

The pathetic response has been from Trump.  Protecting Russia because of his multi-million dollar Moscow Tower project.  You are aware of that project, right?  And how he lied to you about it????

 

Stunning how some are now OK with hostile foreign governments attacking our country.  Very unpatriotic.

[J Town]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

He [Adam Schiff] told MSNBC that, in some cases, the digital cleanup of U.S. networks "may mean burning down the whole system in order to make sure when we rebuild it they're not present."

I worked gubmint IT the majority of my civil service career. This is such a ridiculous statement to make. Shameful even for the likes of this career politician.

[Jeffr2]

13 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Will the USA continue to pretend that they don't do the most espionage in this world?

 

They do.  But isn't there a difference between espionage and hacking another governments computers like this?  And election servers? 

[Jack Mountain]

2 minutes ago, J Town said:

I worked gubmint IT the majority of my civil service career. This is such a ridiculous statement to make. Shameful even for the likes of this career politician.

Maybe he meant humanity instead of IT networks. He could be right then ...

[J Town]

1 hour ago, Sujo said:

Please show me where it says they are going to hack russia.

I hate agreeing with TopDeadSenter but this is a direct quote from this article:

"Options being mulled by the Biden administration to punish Moscow over its alleged role include financial penalties and retaliatory hacks on Russian infrastructure, people familiar with the matter have told Reuters."

[J Town]

1 hour ago, Tug said:

Good !enough of trumps humping Putin’s leg make them howl!

I wish there was a "LOVE IT!" emoticon!!

[Jeffr2]

12 minutes ago, J Town said:

I hate agreeing with TopDeadSenter but this is a direct quote from this article:

"Options being mulled by the Biden administration to punish Moscow over its alleged role include financial penalties and retaliatory hacks on Russian infrastructure, people familiar with the matter have told Reuters."

And why not?  Turnaround is fair play.

[J Town]

15 minutes ago, Jeffr2 said:

And why not?  Turnaround is fair play.

No, you're better than that.

[Jeffr2]

13 minutes ago, J Town said:

No, you're better than that.

How would you suggest the US should react?  Give them a pass, again?  Sanctions, which haven't worked.  Or retaliation, which hasn't really been tried yet?

[J Town]

5 minutes ago, Jeffr2 said:

How would you suggest the US should react?  Give them a pass, again?  Sanctions, which haven't worked.  Or retaliation, which hasn't really been tried yet?

My misunderstanding. I thought you were referring to your reply to a previous post.

(In the voice of Gilda Radner) "Never mind."

[Jeffr2]

7 minutes ago, J Town said:

My misunderstanding. I thought you were referring to your reply to a previous post.

(In the voice of Gilda Radner) "Never mind."

Hope you have a great day.  Stay warm!!!! 55555  Brrr.....

[Sujo]

2 hours ago, J Town said:

I hate agreeing with TopDeadSenter but this is a direct quote from this article:

"Options being mulled by the Biden administration to punish Moscow over its alleged role include financial penalties and retaliatory hacks on Russian infrastructure, people familiar with the matter have told Reuters."

Being mulled does not mean they are going to do it. Nowhere does it state they will hack russia.

[ChouDoufu]

4 hours ago, LomSak27 said:

And as one would expect, President Trump is basically absent from the News Report above. . He did try to deflect saying it was China, even as US sec of state;  Mike Pompeo acknowledged it was the Russians and Trumps good friend Putin, responsible for this hack. Other than that nothing, he is like a ghost these last months. Not doing anything as the  Pandemic soars to historic new levels in the US. Granted he has been exploring the possibilities of declaring Martial Law, beyond that, nothing. Good to know Biden is on this and Putin's Russia will be punished.

 

i'd take anything "we lie, we cheat, we steal" pompeo says with an unusually large grain of salt.  he, like trump, has a "complicated" relationship with the truth.

[ChouDoufu]

3 hours ago, Jeffr2 said:

They do.  But isn't there a difference between espionage and hacking another governments computers like this?  And election servers? 

 

no difference.  mr. google says:

 

"Digital espionage is a form of hacking that is conducted for commercial or political reasons. Foreign cyberspies steal secret information for political purposes or to engineer new technologies that they do not have the knowledge to produce on their own. Digital espionage is also conducted for the purposes of stealing trade secrets so as to obtain a more competitive edge or to develop and then launch a product at the same time as its original manufacturer."

 

breaking into adversarial computer systems is what our (and their) alphabet soup agencies are tasked with.  it's just ordinary, daily, run-of-the-mill operations.  so far all the reports are that "they" broke into various systems, rummaged around, maybe copied some stuff, maybe left some et-phone-home malware.  an intrusion, not an attack.

 

i recall that "her" unsecured bathroom server had been accessed by multiple state actors, one that had installed malware that was sending all traffic thru the server to the mothership.  strangely, that actor was not named by our government.

 

no reports of actual damage done.  it's not like they programmed our centrifuges to malfunction and destroy themselves, or caused explosions in our manufacturing plants.  that would be an act of war.

 

 

[ChouDoufu]

3 hours ago, Jeffr2 said:

How would you suggest the US should react?  Give them a pass, again?  Sanctions, which haven't worked.  Or retaliation, which hasn't really been tried yet?

 

sanctions?  retaliation?  for what?  for doing what all intelligence services do?  unless we can show some real damage done, not normal infiltration and intelligence gathering, then no "retaliation" is called for.  we will of course continue to hack "their" systems, as usual.

 

the big question is why the massive public butt-hurt now?

 

 

[ChouDoufu]

32 minutes ago, ChouDoufu said:

 

i'd take anything "we lie, we cheat, we steal" pompeo says with an unusually large grain of salt.  he, like trump, has a "complicated" relationship with the truth.

 

on second thought, things are beginning to make sense.  why the publicity?

 

pompeo has convinced trump to cancel all nukular arms limitations treaties with the russians.  with the trump regime ending, and the new biden administration locked out of diplomatic flexibility with the russians, a new nukular arms race can commence.

 

i anticipate pompeo taking the revolving door to military-industial lobbying nirvana, to be announced end of january.  

[Jingthing]

4 hours ago, J Town said:

I worked gubmint IT the majority of my civil service career. This is such a ridiculous statement to make. Shameful even for the likes of this career politician.

I don't care where you worked. If an enemy of the USA and Russia is definitely that has control over some important government functions, a radical clean up may be necessary. As far as I'm concerned, what Russia did in this instance is an aggressive act of war. This is complicated by Russia being such a major nuclear power. So any retaliatory response as we are now going back to normality (as the voters chose that) after shambolic Putin loving Mr. Trump, needs to be measured to avoid too much acceleration. 

[Jeffr2]

16 minutes ago, ChouDoufu said:

 

sanctions?  retaliation?  for what?  for doing what all intelligence services do?  unless we can show some real damage done, not normal infiltration and intelligence gathering, then no "retaliation" is called for.  we will of course continue to hack "their" systems, as usual.

 

the big question is why the massive public butt-hurt now?

 

 

Some real damage?  Come on.  Their hack of the DNC computers totally messed up the 2016 elections.  The impact of this hack won't be known for some time, but it's warfare.  Cyber warfare.  Time to fight back.

[Jack Mountain]

Spying is what spies do, it's their reason of existance.

 

It's in this case not the NSA spying on their own people who they are supposed to protect and by whom they are payed.  And that people who bring that in the publicity become pariah's ...

  

A lot of butter on the head here ...

[J Town]

34 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

I don't care where you worked. If an enemy of the USA and Russia is definitely that has control over some important government functions, a radical clean up may be necessary. As far as I'm concerned, what Russia did in this instance is an aggressive act of war. This is complicated by Russia being such a major nuclear power. So any retaliatory response as we are now going back to normality (as the voters chose that) after shambolic Putin loving Mr. Trump, needs to be measured to avoid too much acceleration. 

You fail to understand that "burning down the whole system in order to make sure when we rebuild it they're not present" is absolutely impossible. It would be like exploding a ship in the water that you're sailing on. Can't be done.