"We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorized these activities," the joint statement reads.

The statement said that such activity "is not new to Moscow," adding that Russians have used similar tactics in the past.

"The recent disclosures of alleged hacked emails on sites like DCLeaks.com and WikiLeaks and by the Guccifer 2.0 online persona are consistent with the methods and motivations of Russian-directed efforts," said a joint statement from the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Election Security.

The Obama administration said it is "confident" Vladimir Putin's government is behind the recent series of mostly email hacks on political entities, and that the Russians' intent was to "interfere with the US election process."

"[They are]...fabricated by those who are now serving an obvious political order in Washington, continuing to whip up unprecedented anti-Russian hysteria," he said.

"This whipping up of emotions regarding 'Russian hackers' is used in the US election campaign, and the current US administration, taking part in this fight, is not averse to using dirty tricks," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said.

In a statement on Saturday, the Russian foreign ministry denied the allegations, instead accusing the White House of trying to fan "unprecedented anti-Russian hysteria."

Nobody is surprised that Russia named as being behind DNC hack. What is big here is that by officially naming them, US could take action.

"As the [intelligence community] gathered new information, it was able

to reach higher degrees of confidence about which actors are responsible and

then determine what could be disclosed publicly," a senior administration official told BuzzFeed News in a statement.

The official said the intelligence community worked with the FBI to evaluate information gathered through intelligence sources, FBI investigations, and other sources.

Congressman Adam Schiff, a member of the intelligence committee, applauded the administration's decision to publicly name Russia.

"We should now work with our European allies who have been the victim of similar and even more malicious cyber interference by Russia to develop a concerted response that protects our institutions and deters further meddling," he said in a statement. "All of us should be gravely concerned when a foreign power like Russia seeks to undermine our democratic institutions, and we must do everything in our power to guard against it."

One hack on the Democratic National Committee's servers ahead of the party's July convention revealed 20,000 emails — some of which criticized Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign. Republicans, including Donald Trump, said the leak revealed corruption within the Democratic Party, including its nomination process.

DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz stepped down after the revelations.

Last month, the website DCLeaks.com obtained former Secretary of State Colin Powell's emails, which blasted Donald Trump for embarking on a "racist" movement. His emails also called the Republican candidate a "national disgrace."

In the most recent case, the hacker who goes by Guccifer 2.0 released documents he said came from the servers of the Clinton Foundation.

Here's the full joint statement:

