Donald Trump’s administration has suggested that Russia is not a cybersecurity threat to the US, despite previous warnings of election interference and state-sponsored hacking.
Experts have warned this reflects the strengthening relationship between the US president and Vladimir Putin, particularly after he argued the Russian dictator could be trusted to fulfil a peace deal with Ukraine.
Last week, the State Department’s deputy assistant secretary for international cybersecurity, Liesyl Franz, said the US is aware of and concerned by threats coming from China and Iran, without mentioning Russia.
US intelligence reports previously identified the Russian ransomware group LockBit as the most prolific in the world, which Franz also failed to mention. The group reportedly hires out its ransomware software in exchange for money from the ransoms.
Cyber security expert James Lewis hit back at Franz’s speech, warning that Russia “hates the US” and calling it “delusional” to think otherwise.
He said: “It’s incomprehensible to give a speech about threats in cyberspace and not mention Russia, and it’s delusional to think this will turn Russia and the FSB [the Russian security agency] into our friends.
“They hate the US and are still mad about losing the Cold War. Pretending otherwise won’t change this.”
Officials working at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (Cisa) who focused on election interference have also allegedly been reassigned, according to the New York Times.
A source revealed: “There are thousands of US Government employees and military working daily on the massive threat Russia poses as possibly the most significant nation-state threat actor.
“Not to diminish the significance of China, Iran or North Korea, but Russia is at least on par with China as the most significant cyber threat.
“There are dozens of discrete Russia state-sponsored hacker teams dedicated to either producing damage to US Government, infrastructure and commercial interests or conducting information theft with a key goal of maintaining persistent access to computer systems.”
Cisa has also been told to prioritise new areas of cybersecurity, including threats coming from China and protecting local systems, but no mention of Russia was made.
A source told the Guardian that analysts have been told not to follow or report Russian threats. They said: “Russia and China are our biggest adversaries.
“With all the cuts being made to different agencies, a lot of cybersecurity personnel have been fired. Our systems are not going to be protected and our adversaries know this. People are saying Russia is winning. Putin is on the inside now.”
