Britain accuses Russian spies over the SolarWinds cyber attack

Britain has accused Russia’s foreign intelligence service of being behind a major cyber attack on the west.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said the National Cyber Security Centre had assessed that it was “highly likely” the SVR was responsible for so-called SolarWinds hack.

The move came as US President Joe Biden announced the expulsion of 10 Russian diplomats in response to the Kremlin’s interference in last year’s presidential election and the hacking of federal agencies.

In a statement, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said Britain and the US were determined to stand against Russia’s “malign behaviour”.

“We see what Russia is doing to undermine our democracies,” he said.

“The UK and the US are calling out Russia’s malicious behaviour, to enable our international partners and businesses at home to better defend and prepare themselves against this kind of action.

“The UK will continue to work with allies to call out Russia’s malign behaviour where we see it.”

The SolarWinds hack last year is thought to have been among the worst cyber espionage incidents to have been suffered by the US affecting large swathes of the federal government over a period of months.

At least 200 organisations around the world are reported to have been affected by the attack, including Nato and the European Parliament.