WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government for the first time on Friday formally accused Russia of a campaign of cyber attacks against Democratic Party organizations ahead of the Nov. 8 presidential election. The official statement said the US intelligence community “is confident that the Russian government directed the recent compromises of emails from US persons and institutions, including from US political organizations.”

The officials added: “We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia’s senior-most officials could have authorized these activities:”

The statement said the disclosures of alleged hacked emails on WikiLeaks and other websites and by the online persona “Guccifer 2.0” were “consistent with the methods and motivations of Russian-directed efforts.”

“These thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the US election process,” the statement said. The Obama administration today publicly accused the Russian government of cyberattacks against U.S. political organizations and prominent figures that are “intended to interfere with the U.S. election process.”

The extraordinary move comes after months of disclosures stemming from the hacks of the Democratic National Committee and other groups — cyberattacks that the U.S. intelligence community is now “confident” were directed by the Russian government. In a statement from the director of national intelligence, James Clapper Jr., and the Department of Homeland Security, the US government said the leaked emails that have appeared on a variety of websites “are intended to interfere with the US election process.”

The emails were posted on the well-known WikiLeaks site and two newer sites, DCLeaks.com and Guccifer 2.0, said to be online personas associated with Russian intelligence. According to the joint statement, “disclosures of alleged hacked e-mails on sites like DCLeaks.com and WikiLeaks and by the Guccifer 2.0 online persona are consistent with the methods and motivations of Russian-directed efforts.”

The statement amounts to an accusation that Vladimir Putin ordered interference in the American political system.
The Obama administration formally accuses the Russian government of cyber attacks against the U.S. Democratic Party in influencing presidential election.