Cybersecurity
Hack Attack Adds to Putin Mystique Even if Russia Faces Pain
- Russia braces for retaliation while denying involvement
- Trump has been silent but Pompeo linked hacks to Moscow
Vladimir Putin delivering his annual news conference at the Crowne Plaza World Trade Centre in Moscow.
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The storm over a cyber attack on U.S. government agencies only helps Russian President Vladimir Putin’s image at home as a strong leader unafraid to confront the former Cold War enemy, even as the Kremlin denies involvement amid fears of a backlash when Joe Biden enters the White House.
“Inside the country it bolsters the authorities’ prestige,” said Andrey Kortunov, head of the Kremlin-founded Russian International Affairs Council. “Outside Russia, it only deepens mistrust and this creates risks” by stoking hostility in Washington and other Western capitals, he said.