US resorts to ‘state cyberterrorism’, Russian Foreign Ministry says

Russia is taking all measures to ensure information security in order to deal with the threats voiced in the country's address at the official level by other states, the press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, said.

The lack of the US authorities’ official response to mass media reports about cyber attacks against Russia means that there is ‘state cyber terrorism’ in the United States, Russian Foreign Ministry’s official spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Saturday, TASS reports.

"In connection with the mass media reports that US military hackers have penetrated Russia’s telecommunications networks and electric grid and also ‘the Kremlin’s command systems’ we expect the reaction of the US authorities, including the White House and the Department of State, with the legal assessment of this information," Zakharova stressed.

"The lack of an official reaction on the part of the American administration will mean that the state cyber terrorism exists in the US. In case the threats broadcast by US mass media are put into effect Moscow will have the full right to bring accusations against Washington," the diplomat said.

Earlier in the day, NBC News reported citing a senior intelligence official and top-secret documents that US military hackers "have penetrated Russia's electric grid, telecommunications networks and the Kremlin's command systems, making them vulnerable to attack by secret American cyber weapons."

The US representatives have repeatedly claimed that hackers working for the Russian government allegedly attack information systems of US bodies or campaign headquarters of presidential candidates and vowed to respond symmetrically. Moscow says these are unfounded accusations that are not worthy of notice.

Meanwhile, a member of the State Duma of the International Affairs Committee, Sergei Zheleznyak, said that the reports of the cyber attacks from the US are irresponsible and dangerous provocation. Thus, Zhelezniak lamented that the international security and relationship between Russia and the US "have become hostages of the dirty political games of the current US government."

‘’For any expert it is clear that the anti-Russian rhetoric of the US government is trying to divert the public debate from a discussion of the failures and accumulated problems,"  he stressed.