Russia denies involvement in SolarWinds hack

Sergei Naryshkin, the head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, has denied that his agency was linked to the SolarWinds cyber attack in the US last year.

In an exclusive interview with BBC Moscow correspondent Steve Rosenberg, Naryshkin responded to accusations from UK and US authorities that Russian intelligence carried out the SolarWinds attack, which was described as the world’s most sophisticated hack.

The hack compromised nine US federal agencies and hundreds of private sector companies.

Descibing the claims as ‘pathetic’ and like ‘a bad crime novel’, Naryshkin suggested it was Western intelligence that may have orchestrated the operation. Russia’s spy chief also revealed that contact has been re-established with the head of Britain's secret intelligence service MI6, and that he hopes for a face-to-face meeting soon.