Putin says foreign agencies attacking Russia

PARIS — Russian President Putin said foreign intelligence agencies are conducting cyberattacks against Russia.

Speaking at the headquarters of the Russian foreign intelligence agency SVR, Putin said in comments carried by Russian news agencies on Wednesday that Russia is “witnessing a hike in activities by foreign intelligence agencies aimed against Russia and its allies.” He singled out cyberattacks as one of the ways other countries try to gain sensitive information about Russia.

Ukraine and Russia appeared hardest hit in a new strain of malicious software that froze computers around the globe on Tuesday and Wednesday. Russia’s biggest oil company, Rosneft, said Wednesday it has faced some problems but added that it was too early to assess the damage from the malicious software.

The day after a particularly virulent strain of ransomware burst across the globe, the mysterious Shadow Brokers group has re-emerged to taunt the U.S. National Security Agency.

It’s a possible hint at the shadowy spy games being played behind the scenes of the cybersecurity crisis.

The Shadow Brokers, who have spent nearly a year publishing some of the American intelligence community’s most closely guarded secrets, posted a new message to the user-driven news service Steemit on Wednesday carrying new threats, a new money-making scheme and nudge-nudge references to the ransomware explosion that continues to cause disruption from Pennsylvania to Tasmania.

“Another global cyber attack is fitting end for first month of theshadowbrokers dump service,” the group said, referring to a subscription service which purportedly offers hackers early access to some of the digital NSA’s break-in tools. “There is much theshadowbrokers can be saying about this but what is point and having not already being said?”