US Secretary of Defense James Mattis said on Thursday during a press briefing at the NATO Defense Ministerial in Brussels that the Dutch and British are correct to attribute recent cyberattacks to the Russian foreign intelligence service based on the evidence.
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th October, 2018) US Secretary of Defense James Mattis said on Thursday during a press briefing at the NATO Defense Ministerial in Brussels that the Dutch and British are correct to attribute recent cyberattacks to the Russian foreign intelligence service based on the evidence.
"I've seen enough of the evidence to say the Dutch and British are 100 percent accurate in who they have attributed this to," Mattis told reporters after a meeting of NATO ministers.
Earlier on Thursday, the UK Foreign Office said in a statement that London and its allies could expose a GRU campaign involving erratic and reckless cyberattacks on political institutions, enterprises, media and sports. UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) cited technical details, according to which the GRU was "almost certainly" involved in the theft of confidential medical documents of several athletes published in August 2017 by WADA.
Dutch Defense Minister Ank Bijleveld also said on Thursday that four Russian citizens had been expelled from the Netherlands on April 13 on the suspicion of an attempted cyberattack on the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), noting that the suspects had diplomatic passports.
NATO Secretary General Jens Soltenberg said the organization stands in solidarity with London and Amsterdam in their accusations, and urges Moscow to change its behavior. NATO will respond by strengthening its defense against hybrid threats and cyberattacks, Stoltenberg added.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said all the allegations are simply the start of yet another international anti-Russia campaign.
Western officials put forward accusations against "Russian hackers" on a regular basis. Russia has repeatedly refuted allegations of interfering in other countries' internal affairs and elections.
