US ready to hit Russia with cyberattack if it directly interferes with midterm elections

[midian182]

In brief: The US midterm election takes place next week, and while all eyes are on the results, many people are waiting for any evidence of Russia directly interfering with the vote. If the country is found to have meddled, the Department of Defense is ready to launch a cyberattack against it.

According to a report from the Center for Public Integrity and the Daily Beast, which cites current and former senior officials familiar with the plan, the DoD and US intelligence agencies are ready to strike back against Russia with an offensive cyberattack if it is found to have electronically interfered with the November 6 elections.

Russian trolls trying to influence American voters using social media is almost expected these days, and something that continues despite Facebook (and others) taking measures to combat the problem. A government-sanctioned cyberattack is, of course, a serious move, one that will take more than memes and attempts to sway voters’ opinion to make happen. It seems the attack will only take place if concrete evidence of Russia attempting to tamper with the results, registrations, or voting process emerges.

The plan comes as the result of an executive order signed by President Trump earlier this year, which revised the rules on how and when the US can launch cyberattacks against other countries. The previous framework involved a multi-agency process taking place before such an attack could be carried out; now, Defense Secretary James Mattis and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats can approve retaliatory strikes without the approval of others in the government, and in certain cases without White House approval.

Just how much the threat of a cyberattack dissuades Russia from directly interfering with the midterms, if that is its plan, remains to be seen. Back in November 2016, the US warned it would hack the county’s infrastructure if it meddled directly with the US presidential election, a threat that Russia called “unprecedented,” and “insolent.”

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https://www.techspot.com/news/77246-us-ready-hit-russia-cyberattack-if-directly-interferes.html

 

[VitalyT]

Elections, Russia vs America, it is like a sitcom these days.

They hack each other, they have a laugh, a little sanctions, they get over it, on to the next.

 

[Vulcanproject]

Shut down their vodka plants. Stuxnet for distillation units. Imagine the (increased) anarchy.

 

[SG736F6]

Shut down their vodka plants. Stuxnet for distillation units. Imagine the (increased) anarchy.

I LOLed... Society would collapse if that happened!

 

[Uncle Al]

From what I've been reading it appears that the US is still behind the Russians and Chinese with these capabilities. No doubt we'll catch up but unless we put forth the investment into our cyber and computer groups that we have with our conventional military forces we will continue to lag behind.

 

[VitalyT]

Shut down their vodka plants. Stuxnet for distillation units. Imagine the (increased) anarchy.

Beware what you wish for. If Russia were to sob up for one day, it would take over the world, out of boredom.

 

[Hasbean]

Funny how they scream like stuck pigs when calling Russia and China out on election interference, but quieter than a mouse fart for AIPAC.

 

[Evernessince]

Funny how they scream like stuck pigs when calling Russia and China out on election interference, but quieter than a mouse fart for AIPAC.

Off topic.

 

[kapital98]

From what I've been reading it appears that the US is still behind the Russians and Chinese with these capabilities. No doubt we'll catch up but unless we put forth the investment into our cyber and computer groups that we have with our conventional military forces we will continue to lag behind.

From the memoirs of the people who ran the show (Clapper & Brennan), 9/11 had us almost pinpoint focused on terrorism from the middle east. We knew about the increasing cyber threats but did not invest enough to adequately prepare for it. It was a blindspot (even if they could have spent more on prevention).

 

[petert]

Russian trolls trying to influence American voters

Insecure US troglodytes who put Trumpkin (or Trumpuchka as I like to call him) president. Now, they are regretting it, given Trumpuchka's personal charm and looking around for an escape goat. Heaven forbid they take the responsibility for anything.

Russia? heck yes - a big bad wolf with poor PR. Let's blame the Russians ... yeah that will do it.

 

[p51d007]

Shut down their vodka plants. Stuxnet for distillation units. Imagine the (increased) anarchy.

Beware what you wish for. If Russia were to sob up for one day, it would take over the world, out of boredom.

Have you seen their military hardware outside the May day parades? It is grossly rusted, out of date and poorly equipped. Their ships, planes, tanks all look rusted inside and out, and their soldiers look terrible (again, OUTSIDE of the May Day parades). Their only aircraft carrier, if you look at some photos, has rust all over it, and when they removed one of the boilers, it looks like no one has touched it in ages.
Most navy fleet hardware is checked and cleaned constantly to prevent rust from causing problems.
The only thing the Soviet (I still call them that, because they are still that, just not a "union") can do is produce a LOT of garbage. That worked in WW2 to overwhelm the Germans, but, on a modern battlefield it won't.

 

[VitalyT]

Have you seen their military hardware outside the May day parades? It is grossly rusted, out of date and poorly equipped. Their ships, planes, tanks all look rusted inside and out, and their soldiers look terrible (again, OUTSIDE of the May Day parades). Their only aircraft carrier, if you look at some photos, has rust all over it, and when they removed one of the boilers, it looks like no one has touched it in ages.
Most navy fleet hardware is checked and cleaned constantly to prevent rust from causing problems.
The only thing the Soviet (I still call them that, because they are still that, just not a "union") can do is produce a LOT of garbage. That worked in WW2 to overwhelm the Germans, but, on a modern battlefield it won't.

They don't need any hardware, only their inborn attitude. Have you seen a Russian deprived of Vodka? He can take on entire regiment single-handedly, with a shovel.

 

[mbrowne5061]

Have you seen their military hardware outside the May day parades? It is grossly rusted, out of date and poorly equipped. Their ships, planes, tanks all look rusted inside and out, and their soldiers look terrible (again, OUTSIDE of the May Day parades). Their only aircraft carrier, if you look at some photos, has rust all over it, and when they removed one of the boilers, it looks like no one has touched it in ages.
Most navy fleet hardware is checked and cleaned constantly to prevent rust from causing problems.
The only thing the Soviet (I still call them that, because they are still that, just not a "union") can do is produce a LOT of garbage. That worked in WW2 to overwhelm the Germans, but, on a modern battlefield it won't.

They don't need any hardware, only their inborn attitude. Have you seen a Russian deprived of Vodka? He can take on entire regiment single-handedly, with a shovel.

Whatever you say Ivan.

 

[Capaill]

At least in the Russian (and their allies) counter attack, we'll find out what they are capable of, such as shutting down nuclear reactors or taking the NASDAQ offline for a week. Or maybe NORAD will see a million incoming missiles and won't know if they are real. Or maybe (hopefully) they'll just hack Trump's Twitter account and use it to declare that he is now the proud father of 17 Mexican babies. Fun times ahead.

 

[Trillionsin]

Do we have a Cyber Force yet?

Sorry if this has already been asked.
*snickers*

 

[Joe Blow]

The U.S. government is still perpetuating this fake news?

 

[flyboydale54]

Putin will never know what hit him and Russia. Yeah, I welcome the cyber attack on Russia if they meddle in the Nov. 6th Election.