Russia denies role in US cyberattacks

President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov says 'accusations of Russia's involvement are absolutely unfounded and are a continuation of blind Russophobia'

The Kremlin on Monday, December 21, denied any role in recent cyber-attacks on the United States, saying American accusations that Russia was behind a major security breach lacked evidence.

US lawmakers over the weekend urged a tough response to a huge cyber-attack on government agencies and criticized US President Donald Trump's unwillingness to point the finger at Russia which has been widely blamed for the hack.

President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said public debate in Washington about the breaches "has nothing to do with us."

"Russia is not involved in these attacks," Peskov told reporters Monday.

The attackers managed to breach computer networks using enterprise management network software made by the Texas-based IT company SolarWinds.

US government agencies including the Treasury were among those reportedly affected, but it also hit targets worldwide with the list of victims still emerging, researchers say.

"Any accusations of Russia's involvement are absolutely unfounded and are a continuation of blind Russophobia," Peskov said.

The Kremlin has previously denied US claims that Russian intelligence was behind cyber-attacks targeting Ukraine's power grid, the 2017 French election and the 2018 Winter Olympic Games among other hacks.