But privately, the officials said, there are discussions underway about a response that is at least as public and as aggressive as the U.S. response to the Sony hack, in 2014.
“The Russians may do this to other countries, but they cannot be allowed to do it to us,” a former senior U.S. official told The Daily Beast, speaking privately because of the sensitivities surrounding ongoing discussions about when and how to publicly blame the Russian government.
In an unprecedented move after the Sony hack that many now see as a model, Obama called a press conference at the White House and publicly denounced North Korea. FBI Director James Comey later revealed sensitive technical information about how the U.S. knew the Hermit Kingdom was to blame. The evidence was gleaned from classified U.S. intelligence operations tracking the North Korean hackers.
In January 2015, the U.S. placed sanctions on North Korean businesses and officials. And as The Daily Beast reported, the U.S. also launched retaliatory cyber attacks on North Korean computer networks.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member