The Obama administration is "confident" that Russia was behind recent compromises of emails about upcoming US elections The announcement marks the first time the US has accused Russia of hacking into US political systems.
"The recent disclosures of alleged hacked emails on sites like DCLeaks.com and WikiLeaks and by the Guccifer 2.0 online persona are consistent with the methods and motivations of Russian-directed efforts," the statement added.
"These thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the US election process.
Such activity is not new to Moscow -- the Russians have used similar tactics and techniques across Europe and Eurasia, for example, to influence public opinion there."