Four days ago most news outlets published or reported the story that the head of the NSA, Admiral Mike Rogers, admitted to the Senate Committee of Armed Services that he hasn’t done a thing to stop Russia from hacking our elections in the upcoming 2018 midterm elections, even though there is clear evidence that Russia successfully hacked into numerous states’ election systems leading up to, and during, the Presidential election. Some senators were outraged, others feigned outrage, and those Republican senators that didn’t feign outrage just shrugged.
The initial exchange went like this:
But National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command chief Adm. Michael Rogers told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday there is only so much he can do. That is because, according to Rogers, President Trump has not ordered him to go after the Russian attacks at their origin.
Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the committee's ranking Democrat, asked Rogers, "Have you been directed to do so, given this strategic threat that faces the United States and the significant consequences you recognize already?"
"No, I have not," Rogers replied.
Admiral Rogers, cryptologist, leader of the agency tasked with cyber-attacks and cyber-warfare who saw the biggest leak of actual code in US history by a group called the Shadow Brokers, who is retiring soon, said it wasn’t his job to urge the President to act on Russia’s attacks on our democracy: (NPR link)
But the spy chief pushed back on suggestions that he should seek a presidential signoff.
"I am not going to tell the president what he should or should not do," Rogers said when Connecticut Democrat Richard Blumenthal pressed him on whether Trump should approve that authority.
"I'm an operational commander, not a policymaker," he added. "That's the challenge for me as a military commander."
Nevermind that this isn’t an issue of policymaking, but a hostile, ongoing cyber-attack from a foreign power. An operation that has been so egregious and destabilizing to our democracy that it is referred to as “the crime of the century” in the Washington Post. Isn’t it the military commander’s job description to thwart a hostile foreign power’s attacks? Of course it is.
The Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker Paul Ryan know the best way to ‘win’ is inaction.
Rogers agreed with Blumenthal's estimation that Russian cyber operatives continue to attack the U.S. with impunity and that Washington's response has fallen short….and [Rogers] told Massachusetts Democrat Elizabeth Warren that he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin has reached a conclusion: There is little price to pay for his actions and they can therefore continue.
"Bingo," Warren replied.
Rogers said, “….[I]f we don't change the dynamic here, this is going to continue and 2016 won't be viewed as something isolated," he added. "This is something that will be sustained over time."
In light of that information:
Republican members kept silent about the Trump administration's response to Russian meddling,
Reed asked whether Moscow was trying to obtain a strategic objective by influencing U.S. public opinion on elections. "Yes, sir," Rogers replied. "I believe they're attempting to undermine our institutions."
Without going into details, he said he has directed the Cyber Command's Cyber Mission Force "to begin some specific work" in response to Russia's interference in U.S. elections.
But Rogers also made clear that he had not been granted what he called "the day-to-day authority" to disrupt Russian hacking operations at their point of origin. That, he said, would have to come from Trump through Defense Secretary James Mattis.
A day later this news broke:
The U.S. intelligence community developed substantial evidence that state websites or voter registration systems in seven states were compromised by Russian-backed covert operatives prior to the 2016 election — but never told the states involved, according to multiple U.S. officials.
Top-secret intelligence requested by President Barack Obama in his last weeks in office identified seven states where analysts — synthesizing months of work — had reason to believe Russian operatives had compromised state websites or databases.
Three senior intelligence officials told NBC News that the intelligence community believed the states as of January 2017 were Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Texas and Wisconsin….
...The officials say systems in the seven states were compromised in a variety of ways, with some breaches more serious than others, from entry into state websites to penetration of actual voter registration databases.
All state and federal officials who spoke to NBC News agree that no votes were changed and no voters were taken off the rolls….
...Daniel, who is now president of the Cyber Threat Alliance, an industry group, said it was the intention of the Obama administration to inform those states, "but clearly it didn't happen the way that we wanted it to."
And, the reason the Obama administration didn’t inform those states is because Senator Mitch McConnell wouldn’t sign a bipartisan letter, and threatened the Obama administration with accusations of partisanship. More here and here on Obama’s efforts to inform the public about Russian interference and Republicans’ inaction.
The Washington Post:
“The Dems were, ‘Hey, we have to tell the public,’ ” recalled one participant. But Republicans resisted, arguing that to warn the public that the election was under attack would further Russia’s aim of sapping confidence in the system.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) went further, officials said, voicing skepticism that the underlying intelligence truly supported the White House’s claims. Through a spokeswoman, McConnell declined to comment, citing the secrecy of that meeting.
Key Democrats were stunned by the GOP response and exasperated that the White House seemed willing to let Republican opposition block any pre-election move.
The election system has been worked and reworked to benefit Republicans, and now mainly through inaction. (The Atlantic)
Among many other needed measures promoted by nonprofit and nonpartisan Verified Voting, Congress should require standardized voting systems around the nation. It should insist on rock-solid security, augmented by frequent audits of hardware and software. Recounts should be performed routinely and randomly to ensure that verified-voting systems work as designed. The paper ballot generated by the machine should be the official ballot.
What Congress should emphatically not do is allow or encourage online voting. The sorry state of cybersecurity in general makes clear how foolhardy it would be to go anywhere near widespread “Internet voting” in the foreseeable future.
I’ll close with Admiral Rogers’ milquetoast warning, after and months of inaction, also listed above:
Rogers said, “….[I]f we don't change the dynamic here, this is going to continue and 2016 won't be viewed as something isolated," he added. "This is something that will be sustained over time."
In other words, we can kiss our democracy goodbye. And, that is just what the Republicans are working toward.
A few ways to get involved:
1. Writing letters/calling your Senators and Reps WORKS—(202)224-3121—Capitol Switchboard; ask them what THEY are doing to shore up their elections systems and to get the President to act. Encourage them to set up a system similar to Oregon’s.
2. Keep this issue out front and center in any/every venue you can—Facebook, Twitter, blogs, papers, etc.
3. Join/support Verified Voting and other nonprofits dedicated to having traceable voting machines in every state. Join the effort in your state to secure its voting systems.
#Resist!