President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that patriotic Russian cyber hackers may have attacked countries their own initiative.
Putin, speaking to international media at an economic forum in St Petersburg, was answering a question about allegations Moscow might try to interfere in this year’s German elections. He claims these patriotic Russian cyber hackers were in no way supported by the state.
“On a state level, we haven’t been involved in this (hacking), we aren’t planning to be involved in it. Quite the opposite, we are trying to combat it inside our country,” said Putin.
“If they (hackers) are patriotically-minded, they start to make their own contribution to what they believe is the good fight against those who speak badly about Russia. Is that possible? Theoretically it is possible,” said Putin.
Mr. Putin while positive that the Russian cyber hackers are only doing what they feel is in the best interests of mother Russia, he is not so sure about their abilities. He said he was personally convinced that hackers could not materially alter election campaigns in Europe, America or elsewhere. However convincing Mr. Putin might be difficult as fears still abound (here).
“I can imagine that some do it deliberately, staging a chain of attacks in such a way as to cast Russia as the origin of such an attack,” Putin said. “Modern technologies allow that to be done quite easily.”
Putin added that while the Russian state has never been involved in hacking, it was “theoretically possible” that Russia-West tensions could have prompted some individuals to launch cyberattacks.
“Hackers are free people, just like artists who wake up in the morning in a good mood and start painting,” he said. “The hackers are the same. They would wake up, read about something going on in interstate relations and if they feel patriotic, they may try to contribute to the fight against those who speak badly about Russia.”
This article was first published on CyberSec.Buzz.
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