The United States government is planning to take a series of retaliatory measures against Russia for hacking into U.S. political institutions.As per the reports, the election hacking was done to help President-elect Donald Trump and other Republican candidates win U.S election.
According to a report in Reuters, the officials declined to specify what actions President Barack Obama has approved.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Central Intelligence Agency and Office of Director of National Intelligence have confirmed that Russia was behind hacks into Democratic Party organizations and operatives ahead of the November 8 presidential election.
Reportedly, Russia sought to intervene in the election to help Donald Trump win election against rival Hillary Clinton.
However, Russia has denied any involvement in U.S election hacking allegations.Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, promised retaliation against United States administration in the event of new economic sanctions.
U.S President Barack Obama may choose to invoke an April 2015 executive order that empowered him to levy sanctions in response to cyber attacks perpetrated by foreign groups targeting infrastructure, such as transportation, or done for economic purposes.
Another option would be further economic sanctions against Russia. Washington has already sanctioned Russia over the past two years to punish Moscow for its role in annexing Crimea. But former U.S. officials say the existing measures leave Washington plenty of room to slap new, tougher sanction on Russia in response to cyber intrusions.
A former senior State Department official Peter Harrell who worked on sanctions policy told Reuters that, United States is still unlikely to impose blanket embargoes against Russia because of the danger it could harm the economies of Western Europe.
As per the reports, the United States may target specific Russian intelligence officials or military divisions believed to be involved in the cyber intrusions.
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