White House Will Not Name Those behind 2014 Cyber Attack

The White House said Wednesday it would not name those behind a cyber attack on official Washington targets last October, after reports blamed Russia.

"Our investigators have concluded that it's not in our best interest to identify the entity that may be responsible for this specific activity of concern," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.

Asked why the administration was refusing to disclose who was behind the hack when Washington accused North Korea of attacking Sony last year, Earnest said in that case the FBI determined it could be "more effective" to hold the North Koreans accountable for the cyber vandalism. 

Earnest said the attack last fall appeared not to have compromised the White House's classified network. 

"But there were some elements of the system that were affected when our computer administrators took steps to mitigate the impact of the activity of concern. Much of that capability has been restored," he said. 

CNN earlier reported that Russia was behind the October attack, which originated at the State Department, but was confirmed to have hit the White House too.