Kremlin 'concerned' about possible US cyberattacks

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Reports about possible US attacks against Russia's government systems provoke serious concern, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.

Commenting on an article in the New York Times saying the US intelligence services plan a series of actions against Russian government networks in the next three weeks, Peskov said the information was "alarming."

"This is alarming information because it is quite a reputable American issue that admits the possibility, moreover, announces the possibility of cyberattacks, which are nothing but international cybercrime.

"The fact that the issue admits the possibility that the American state may be involved in this cybercrime is a reason for our extreme concern," Peskov told reporters in Moscow.

As for Russia's involvement in the cyberattacks against the US, Peskov insisted that it has never had and has nothing to do with any manifestations of such cybercrime and cyberterrorism.

On Sunday, the New York Times said a series of clandestine actions across Russian networks "that are intended to be evident to President Vladimir Putin and his intelligence services and military but not to the wider world" will be carried out in the next three weeks.

It justifies the plans on cyberattacks as "retaliation against Russia for the large-scale hacking of American government agencies and corporations discovered late last year."