In addition to the military invasion, Ukraine has been targeted by ongoing cyberattacks from Russia, and U.S. intelligence officials believe that Russia poses a “serious cyber threat” to America.
As such, several ranking House Republicans are investigating why the Biden administration decided to release Russian cybercriminal Aleksei Burkov before finishing his sentence, reports Just The News.
Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Michael Turner (R-Ohio), Homeland Security Committee Ranking Member John Katko (R-N.Y.), and Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Michael McCaul (R-Texas), sent a letter to Joe Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan looking for answers.
“Burkov has been described as an ‘asset of supreme importance’ and possibly ‘one of the most connected and skilled malicious hackers ever apprehended by U.S. authorities,'” the letter reads. “The Russian government has a history of using cybercriminals as assets for Russian intelligence services. Some former officials have suggested that Burkov may now be working for Russia, against U.S. interests.”
The Biden administration released Burkov on Aug. 25, 2021—a year early.
“In light of the danger posed by Burkov’s activities and President Biden’s statement that Russian cyberattacks against U.S. interests would face ‘consequences,’ we have questions about the Biden Administration’s decision to allow Burkov to return to Russia,” the letter to Sullivan continues. “We request your cooperation with our investigation into this matter.”
At this point, it’s really difficult to try to explain anything the Biden administration does.
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