NHS cyber attack: US to blame for devastating attack on hospitals, Vladimir Putin says
'The initial source of the virus is the intelligence services of the United States'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Vladimir Putin has suggested that the US is to blame for the cyber attack that cause chaos in the NHS and across the world.
Cautioning of the dangers of intelligence agencies creating malware that can later be used by hackers, he suggested that the American NSA were partly responsible for aiding the recent attack by creating the hacking tool used.
Speaking to reporters in Beijing during a conference, the Russian president said that there had been little damage done to institutions in his country.
"But as a whole it is worrying, there's nothing good about it, it is a source of concern. As regards the source of these threats, I believe that the leadership of Microsoft have announced this plainly, that the initial source of the virus is the intelligence services of the United States," Putin said.
"Once they're let out of the lamp, genies of this kind, especially those created by intelligence services, can later do damage to their authors and creators," he added.
"So this question should be discussed immediately on a serious political level and a defence needs to be worked out from such phenomena."
He denied that Russia had anything to do with the attack.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments