CIA plans cyber attack 'revenge' on Russia

(Baonghean.vn) - The CIA is planning a "secret" cyber attack on Russia in "retaliation" for Moscow's alleged interference in the US presidential election, according to NBC News.

The CIA is said to be planning a “secret” cyber attack on Russia. Photo: Reuters.

According to the source, the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has begun preparing for attacks and has even obtained “a large amount of documents” related to Russian President Vladimir Putin in order to discredit the Russian leadership.

However, there is still a division within President Barack Obama's administration over whether to "retaliate." White House spokesman John Earnest said the president is still deciding on "response options," which may be unannounced and undisclosed.

Vice President Joe Biden said on “Meet the Press” on October 14 that he was “sending a message” to Putin. He also said that there will come a time when Americans will have a choice and that choice will have the greatest impact depending on the context.

Two former CIA officers who worked in Russia told NBC News that the White House had long asked the agency to consider options for action against Russia, including cyberattacks. However, the plan was never implemented.

“We have a lot of information about the Russians and we can do a lot of things. First of all, remind them that we are playing the same game, if someone disrupts our network, we will respond in kind,” said an unnamed officer.

According to sources, the CIA's cyber intelligence center has a staff of hundreds of people and a budget of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Meanwhile, another former CIA officer believes that "hitting" the honor of the Russian leader is difficult because whatever the US can do, Russia can also respond accordingly.

Thanh Huyen

(According to Reuters)