Security News > 2021 > May > Us? Pwn SolarWinds? With our reputation? Russian spy chief makes laughable denial of supply chain attack

A Russian spymaster has denied that his agency carried out the infamous SolarWinds supply chain attack in a public relations move worthy of the Internet Research Agency.

Sergei Naryshkin, head of the SVR spy agency, made his denial in a BBC interview broadcast on Tuesday.

"I'd be flattered to hear such an assessment of the work of the Foreign Intelligence service which I run. Such a high evaluation," said the spymaster in remarks translated by the BBC. The SolarWinds supply chain attack saw US and UK government institutions probed by Russian spies, as well as FireEye - itself a major US cybersecurity contractor.

Here's what Russia's SVR spy agency does when it breaks into your network, says US CISA infosec agency.

So Sergey Naryshkin sat in front of the BBC's cameras and declared that the SVR didn't carry out the SolarWinds attacks, despite clear evidence presented by the global cybersecurity industry and the US and UK governments.

Not only the West: Russian-headquartered Kaspersky Lab made tentative findings after the SolarWinds attack that the Turla malware crew, which is thought to have links to SVR sister agency the FSB, might have been involved.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2021/05/18/russian_spymaster_solarwinds/