WASHINGTON—President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday promised a forceful response to the suspected Russian hack of the federal government, faulting President Trump for not prioritizing cybersecurity and saying digital threats were among the most grave problems facing the U.S.
Mr. Biden spoke of the hack in far more dire terms than Trump administration officials have publicly, saying he saw “no evidence that it is under control” and that he had no assurances that the problem would be addressed by the time he takes office next month.
“The question of the damage done remains to be determined,” Mr. Biden said of the SolarWinds hack, which has compromised at least six cabinet departments and an unknown number of corporate networks. But addressing the fallout would be an “overwhelming focus for my administration,” he said.
The hackers “can be assured that we will respond and probably respond in kind,” the president-elect said. Mr. Biden declined to elaborate, saying he didn’t want to telegraph options for the adversary.
A White House National Security Council spokesman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Mr. Biden’s remarks. Mr. Trump said on Saturday on Twitter that the news media was exaggerating the hack’s severity, and said without elaboration that China rather than Russia could be behind it.
