Putin: Russian state has never been involved in hacking

By IAN PHILLIPS and VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV
ST.PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — President Vladimir Putin insisted Thursday that the Russian state has never engaged in hacking and scoffed at allegations that hackers could influence the outcome of elections in the United States or Europe.
But the Russian leader admitted the possibility that some individual “patriotic” hackers could have mounted some attacks amid the current cold spell in Russia’s relations with the West.
Speaking at a