Hacking is all Putin has left because he has no real global power: Former FBI official

Former FBI deputy director for counterintelligence Frank Figliuzzi explained Wednesday that there is so much Russian hacking because it's the only power they have.

"This is about as close as you're going to get to state-sponsored terrorism in the cyber world," Figliuzzi explained to MSNBC's Ali Velshi. "The code in the ransomware attacks is written so it will never attack Russian targets. That seems to be Putin telling these organizations, 'I'm going to give you license to operate. Just don't ever let this unleash on one of our companies or one of our agencies.' That's essentially state sponsorship. That's why you'll see our entire U.S. intelligence community directed even at these criminal organizations because they're so closely tied to the Russian government. They present a national security concern for the United States."

Velshi asked what Putin's end-game is in all of the ransomware attacks. Unlike in normal terrorism, there's money to be gained, but that's about it.

"Well, first, let's remember, Putin simply wants to sow discord and chaos and undermine our democracy," Figliuzzi said. "We've seen that in election cycles, now we're seeing it in attacks on our food supply with JBS, attacks on our fuel supply with colonial. And you'll continue to see these kinds of things. It's almost all he's got left, Ali. His economy is suffering. Sanctions have taken a bite out of him. He's kind of a second-tier country without his army. He's got almost nothing. He's got this to play with and wreak havoc with."

He said that the United States must shore up defenses and critical infrastructure and prepare a war plan. Not an actual "war," but "if he does this, we will do this," plan. Like it or not, he explained that it's landed on Joe Biden's desk and it's on him to fix it, along with everything else he has to fix.

See the video below:

Hacking is all they've gotwww.youtube.com