Donald Trump says he thinks Russia was behind US election hacking

US President-elect Donald Trump for the first time on Wednesday acknowledged Russian involvement behind the cyberattacks targeting the 2016 US presidential election.

Washington: US President-elect Donald Trump for the first time on Wednesday acknowledged Russian involvement in the cyberattacks targeting the 2016 US Presidential Election.

However, Trump refuted intelligence reports that Moscow acted to help him win the presidential race.

"As far as hacking, I think it was Russia," Xinhua quoted Trump as saying at his first press conference in New York since winning the election in November.

"He (Russian President Vladimir Putin) should not be doing it. He won`t be doing it," said Trump, adding, "Russia will have much greater respect for our country when I`m leading than when other people have led it."

Trump added that Russia is not the only nation that hacks US targets and accused Democrats of not having sufficient cyber-security programs.

Trump`s first public acknowledgment came after months of denial and sometimes even disparagement of US intelligence community.

Claiming that the US is least prepared in defending its cyber assets resulting in various countries, including Russia and China, intruding into its online system, the President-elect vowed to come out with a major anti-hacking plan within 90 days after he assumes office on January 20.

"Within 90 days, we will be coming up with a major report on hacking defence, how do we stop this new phenomena -- fairly new phenomena because the United States is hacked by everybody. That includes Russia and China and everybody," Trump told reporters here in his first formal press conference in six months.

Russia, he claimed, will have far greater respect for the US when he is leading it.

"There's no reset button. We're either going to get along or we're not. I hope we get along, but if we don't, that's possible too," he said on ties with Russia.

"But Russia and other countries, including China, which has taken total advantage of us economically, totally taken advantage of us in the South China Sea by building their massive fortress, total. Russia, China, Japan, Mexico, all countries will respect us far more, far more than they did under past administrations," he asserted.

Since October, the US intelligence community had accused Russians of being responsible for the hacking that led to the leaking of damaging materials which dogged Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton till the Election Day.

On Friday, the US intelligence released a report, accusing Putin of ordering "an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election" in order to "undermine public faith in the US democratic process."

Moscow on Monday refuted accusations of Russia`s involvement in cyberattacks during the US 2016 election, saying that it was a "tiresome witch-hunt."