Asked directly if the SVR was responsible for the SolarWinds attack, Naryshkin quipped with a smile that he would be ‘flattered’ if the SVR had been responsible for such a sophisticated attack but that he could not ‘claim the creative achievements of others as his own.’
Naryshkin said he did not want to accuse the US of being behind the attack but quoted from documents leaked by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden to suggest that the tactics of the attack were similar to those used by US and British intelligence agencies.
What is most interesting is that he said anything at all. He is clearly sending a message that Russia is both capable and willing to carry out such cyberwarfare attacks.
Or did Naryshkin intimate that there are known US state entities quite capable of and willing to hack domestic interests?