The Obama administration could announce as early as Thursday moves to retaliate against Russia for its alleged use of cyberattacks to meddle in last month’s presidential election, a senior U.S. official said. The White House has been considering a variety of measures to respond to the hacking of the Democratic National Committee and the email account of Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman, John Podesta, including sanctions and retaliatory cyber actions. U.S. officials have said the “proportional response” could involve both steps that would be publicly disclosed afterward and covert moves that would remain classified.
President Barack Obama implied earlier this month that Russian President Vladimir Putin was directly involved in the hacks, raising the stakes for and possibly the intensity of the response. Mr. Obama also said that his administration’s “goal continues to be to send a clear message to Russia or others not to do this to us because we can do stuff to you.”
Russia has denied the hacks.
Mr. Obama, who has been on vacation in Hawaii for most of the past two weeks, has ordered the completion of a review of cyberattacks allegedly aimed at U.S. elections. He is expected to receive the report after he returns to Washington on Jan. 2.
Full Article: U.S. Poised to Act Over Alleged Election Hacking – WSJ.