Tag: cyber-hacking

Posted on

Romney: Trump Has ‘A Blind Spot When It Comes To Russia’

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) didn’t tiptoe around his thoughts on how Donald Trump is handling his final days in the White House. Asked about Trump’s response to recent cyber-attacks on government and major corporations this week – attributed to Russia – the 2012 Republican presidential candidate told CNN’s Jake Tapper Trump has “a blind spot when it comes to Russia and so you can expect that that’s the response he would have.” Romney also said that “it’s sad in a lot of respects” how the Donald is “casting about” railing about his reelection loss when he could be taking a victory lap with the rollout of the coronavirus vaccines.

Posted on

Trump Breaks Silence, Defends Russia From Cyber Hacking, Lies About Election Loss (Again)

Donald Trump in the Oval Office (image: public domain)
After days of silence, while the U.S. continued to battle with daily COVID-19 deaths exceeding 3,000 per day and the news of a massive cyber spy campaign against the country, Donald Trump finally emerged from his solitude to downplay any role Russia might have had in the attack. The intrusions into federal agencies reportedly included the State Department, the Treasury, Homeland Security, Energy and Commerce Departments, as well the National Institutes of Health. Even though Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told conservative pundit Mark Levin on Friday that Moscow is responsible for the computer hacks – “This was a very significant effort, and I think it’s the case that now we can say pretty clearly that it was the Russians that engaged in this activity” – Trump continues to defend Russia and its leader, President Vladimir Putin. Trump tweeted this morning that he has been “fully briefed” on the incident (I’d hope so) and deflected responsibility from Russia by suggesting “it may be China.” Tagging Pompeo, Trump tamped down concerns writing, “The Cyber Hack is far greater in the Fake News Media than in actuality. I have been fully briefed and everything is well under control.” He then careened back to his baseless claims that he won the presidential election (he didn’t) by suggesting cyber hackers might have “hit on our ridiculous voting machines during the election.” Factcheck: Trump’s own cyber experts at the Department of Homeland Security have guaranteed no voting apparatus was infiltrated during the election.

Posted on

Trump U-Turns On US/Russian “Cyber Security Unit”

Yesterday, President Trump surprised many by sharing he discussed forming “an impenetrable Cyber Security unit” with Russian President Putin:

Of course, while Trump seems to trust Putin, the U.S. intelligence community unanimously agrees that it was Putin who ordered the interference in the 2016 presidential campaign.

Many compared teaming up with Russia on cyber security akin to hiring the burglar who robbed your house to develop a home security system.

One day later, Trump appeared to reverse course on the idea tweeting, “The fact that President Putin and I discussed a Cyber Security unit doesn’t mean I think it can happen. It can’t – but a ceasefire can & did!”

Whip lash, anyone?

Posted on

Trump: Intelligence Briefing “Constructive” But Still Has Questions

Donald Trump

While it appears that Trump did listen, his main talking point after today’s intelligence briefing seems to be doubling down on the fact that he won the presidency on his own, with no help from Russia.

From USA Today:

President-elect Donald Trump said he had a “constructive” meeting with intelligence officials on Friday, and while praising them still had questions about assertions that Russia hacked Democrats in an effort to influence last year’s election.

Claiming that Russia, China, and other countries and organizations are always launching cyber-attacks against the United States — “including the Democratic National Committee” — Trump said in a written statement that “there was absolutely no effect on the outcome of the election including the fact that there was no tampering whatsoever with voting machines.”

He added: “There were attempts to hack the Republican National Committee, but the RNC had strong hacking defenses and the hackers were unsuccessful.”

While criticizing aspects of the Russia investigation just hours before a special briefing, Trump said in his statement that
“I have tremendous respect for the work and service done by the men and women of this (intelligence) community to our great nation.”

Saying all Americans need to “aggressively combat and stop cyber-attacks,” Trump said that as president he would appoint a team to develop a new defense plan.

“The methods, tools and tactics we use to keep America safe should not be a public discussion that will benefit those who seek to do us harm,” the president-elect added. “Two weeks from today I will take the oath of office and America’s safety and security will be my number one priority.”

Before his high-profile briefing at Trump Tower, the president-elect also announced he has asked Congress to investigate what he believes to be the leak of a secret intelligence report on the Russians to the news media. He tweeted: “I am asking the chairs of the House and Senate committees to investigate top secret intelligence shared with NBC prior to me seeing it.”

Trump has also protested news coverage on Thursday night, tweeting: “How did NBC get ‘an exclusive look into the top secret report he (Obama) was presented?’ Who gave them this report and why? Politics!”

The president-elect had a nearly two-hour briefing that included Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, CIA Director John Brennan and FBI Director James Comey, all of whom have cited evidence pointing to a Russian plan to hack Democrats backing Clinton, perhaps in an effort to aid Trump.

A declassified version of the report was released today via the Director of National Intelligence:

Click to enlarge
Posted on

Trump: “I Know Things That Other People Don’t Know” About Cyber-Hacking Russians

Even though all 17 of the U.S. intelligence agencies  – ALL 17 AGENCIES!!! – agree “with confidence” that Russia willfully cyber-hacked American email servers in an attempt to interfere with the presidential election, Donald Trump says he knows “things that other people don’t know,” adding that he would share that info with the American people either today or Wednesday this week.

(p.s. today came and went with no announcement from Trump on the cyber-hacking)

From the New York Times:

“I just want them to be sure because it’s a pretty serious charge,” Mr. Trump said of the intelligence agencies. “If you look at the weapons of mass destruction, that was a disaster, and they were wrong,” he added, referring to intelligence cited by the George W. Bush administration to support its march to war in 2003. “So I want them to be sure,” the president-elect said. “I think it’s unfair if they don’t know.”

He added: “And I know a lot about hacking. And hacking is a very hard thing to prove. So it could be somebody else. And I also know things that other people don’t know, and so they cannot be sure of the situation.”

When asked what he knew that others did not, Mr. Trump demurred, saying only, “You’ll find out on Tuesday or Wednesday.”

Mr. Trump, who does not use email, also advised people to avoid computers when dealing with delicate material. “It’s very important, if you have something really important, write it out and have it delivered by courier, the old-fashioned way, because I’ll tell you what, no computer is safe,” Mr. Trump said.

“I don’t care what they say, no computer is safe,” he added. “I have a boy who’s 10 years old; he can do anything with a computer. You want something to really go without detection, write it out and have it sent by courier.”

I should add that since that reporting was made public, Team Trump has admitted that he hasn’t made the time to sit down with the heads of U.S. intelligence agencies to be briefed on what it is exactly they have as proof.

But he knows more than they do.

Because his 10 year old son can work a computer.

#sigh

Posted on

DNC Calls Trump Spokesman A “Shill For Putin”

The Democratic National Committee has had enough of Team Trump’s denial of the Russian cyber-hacking that took place.

After White House press secretary Sean Spicer took a spin on the morning political shows saying there is “zero evidence” of Russian involvement, the DNC knocked Spicer for being a “shill” for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Via The Hill:

In an email, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) called Spicer’s comments false and pointed to an interview where several former White House press secretaries suggested President-elect Donald Trump often creates his own facts.

“Right on cue, Trump’s incoming White House press secretary was on the morning shows today spinning the falsehood that there is ‘zero evidence’ that Russia influenced the election through their hacking of DNC and Clinton campaign officials,” the DNC email stated. The email was sent under a subject line arguing that the incoming White House press secretary “shills for Putin.”

On Fox News on Monday, Spicer claimed there was “zero evidence” of Russian interference in the 2016 election, despite intelligence agencies’s reports about the hacking campaign leading up to Trump’s electoral win.

The fact of the matter is all 17 of the US intelligence agencies agree “with confidence” that Russia not only hacked into American email servers but did so with the purpose of interfering in the presidential election.

All 17 agencies.

Team Trump’s denials are based on fears that his electoral “win” might somehow be delegitimized if the Russian’s efforts are acknowledged.

Posted on

GOP Congressman Says Comments That Russia Did Media’s Job Were “Completely Misconstrued”

Arizona Congressman Trent Franks, in an appearance on MSNBC Thursday afternoon, shared his opinion that Russia’s cyber-hacking activities during the election was merely what the U.S. media should have done.

“If Russia succeeded in giving the American people information that was accurate, then they merely did what the media should have done,” said Congressman Franks, who chairs the House subcommittee on the Constitution and sits on the House Judiciary Committee.

Franks appeared on CNN Friday afternoon to push back against calls of “traitor” and accusing him of treason on social media, in light of his comments.

“Those comments were completely misconstrued,” Franks said. “No one has been harder on Russia than me. I have been deeply committed to making sure their expansionism and their efforts did not result in the deaths of innocent people across the world.”

Additionally, Franks said that President Obama’s sanctions against the Russian government are Obama’s attempt to “delegitimize” Trump’s election.

“I am completely convinced that Barack Obama’s primary motivation here is to try to delegitimize the election here.”

It’s interesting that the biggest concern on behalf of Trump supporters is the fear that his win might somehow be taken away, and not that a foreign power like Russia is hacking into our data servers.

Posted on

Putin Announces He Will Not Expel US Diplomats From Russia – Yet

CNN is reporting that Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced he will not dispatch American diplomats from Russia as a response to yesterday’s similar move by the Obama administration over cyber-hacking during the recent presidential election.

Putin said he would not pursue “irresponsible diplomacy” and would instead attempt to rebuild relations with Washington after the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump.

However, Putin said that Russia reserved the right to respond to the new US sanctions, which included the expulsion of 35 diplomats from the US. The Obama administration said the measures were in response to allegations that Russia had meddled in the 2016 US presidential election.

“Further steps towards the restoration of Russian-American relations will be built on the basis of the policies carried out by the administration of President Trump,” a Kremlin statement said.

Putin reportedly told Sputnik: “We will not create problems for American diplomats. We will not send anyone away. We will not prohibit their families and children to use for their usual vacation spots in the New Year’s holidays.”

Posted on

Donald Trump Responds To News Of Sanctions Against Russia For Cyber-Hacking During Election

Statement from President-elect Donald J. Trump regarding today’s announced sanctions by the U.S. government against Russia for cyber-attacks during the recent presidential election:

“It’s time for our country to move on to bigger and better things.

“Nevertheless, in the interest of our country and it’s great people, I will meet with leaders of the intelligence community next week in order to be updated on the facts of this situation.”

A couple of thoughts here:

1. The “time to move on” line sounds like Trump is so very afraid to admit he didn’t win the White House on his own. Pal, you get the White House. No one is taking it from you at this point. Chill.

2. Line 2’s “in the interest of our country” seems like he’s doing us a favor by doing his job. In light of all 17 U.S. intelligence agencies agreeing with certainty that Russia did indeed interfere with our election, he should at least appear to be concerned about this issue.

Also, saying he will meet with intelligence leaders next week in order to be “updated on the facts” sure seems like his not informed on the issue. Can you imagine President Reagan saying “I’ll get to the Russians hacking our systems some time next week….?”

Posted on

Obama Announces Tough Sanctions Against Russia For Elections Interference

President Obama issued a statement today announcing several actions to be taken against the Russian government for cyber-activity intended to interfere in the recent U.S. elections.

From his statement:

Today, I have ordered a number of actions in response to the Russian government’s aggressive harassment of U.S. officials and cyber operations aimed at the U.S. election. These actions follow repeated private and public warnings that we have issued to the Russian government, and are a necessary and appropriate response to efforts to harm U.S. interests in violation of established international norms of behavior.

All Americans should be alarmed by Russia’s actions. In October, my Administration publicized our assessment that Russia took actions intended to interfere with the U.S. election process. These data theft and disclosure activities could only have been directed by the highest levels of the Russian government. Moreover, our diplomats have experienced an unacceptable level of harassment in Moscow by Russian security services and police over the last year. Such activities have consequences. Today, I have ordered a number of actions in response.

The list of actions include (via NBC News):

• Shutting down two compounds, one in in Maryland and one in New York, “used by Russian personnel for intelligence-related purposes.”

• Sanctions against the Russian intelligence services GRU and FSB, and four high-ranking officers of the GRU. The sanctions are also aimed at two suspected hackers, including one wanted by the FBI in two other cases, and three companies that allegedly provided support to the GRU’s cyber operations.

• Releasing technical information about Russian cyber activity, “to help network defenders in the United States and abroad identify, detect, and disrupt Russia’s global campaign of malicious cyber activities.”

The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI issued a declassified report offering some specifics regarding the Russian involvement in what those agencies now call “malicious cyber activity.”

President Obama also indicated that there may be more covert actions taken. “These actions are not the sum total of our response to Russia’s aggressive activities,” Obama said. “We will continue to take a variety of actions at a time and place of our choosing, some of which will not be publicized.”

Several members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have called for strenuous investigations into Russia’s involvement including Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham.

On the other end of the spectrum, President-elect Donald Trump says we shouldn’t bother looking into Russia’s interference in U.S. elections.

Speaking to reporters at his Florida home yesterday if the United States should sanction Russia, Trump had this to say: “I think we ought to get on with our lives. I think that computers have complicated lives very greatly. The whole age of computer has made it where nobody knows exactly what’s going on.”

The sanctions put into place today could be reversed by Trump once he takes office, but to do so would put him in a position of defending Russia and possibly signal that he doesn’t have confidence in the U.S.’s 17 intelligence agencies who all agree that Russia was involved.

Russia has consistently denied any involvement in the cyber-hacking activities.