From the endorsement to Trump, to Kremlin’s hackers intrusions in the election campaign, the Russian interest in the US presidential is a crescendo. To the point to fear the worst.
The computer experts of the FBI took the threat very seriously. The Cyber Division Federal Bureau of Investigations has issued a classified flash alert (with amber TLP) of an intrusion and an attempted intrusion into computer systems of two different state’s Board of Election. Although none of the IP addresses reported by the FBI is linked to Russia, it’s easy to think to July’s hacking of DNC. On that occasion two hacking teams, dubbed by the DNC security “Fancy Bear” and “Cozy Bear” (which according to the IT Company CrowdStrike lead to the two main branches of Putin’s intelligence, the federal FSB and military GRU), stuck their noses into Hillary Clinton’s party computer for at least a year without even knowing of each other.
The alarm launched by the FBI is now at a much higher level: hackers intend to manipulate or sabotage November presidential in may intrude on the electronic voting process. And all eyes are on Russia.
The covert Russian plan to disrupt US elections
After the recent attacks, the US National Intelligence, DNI, has opened an investigation into a hypothetical covert Russian plan to disrupt the elections, according to The Washington Post. The aim of the survey is to understand the scope and goal of the Russian disinformation campaign, including cyber-espionage hack systems used in the political process. “This is something of concern for the DNI, it is being addressed”, said James R. Clapper Jr., the director of national intelligence.
The FBI alert to national electoral commissions warns against the risk of a proliferation of attacks on voting system during the Election day. This is the electronic voting process, including voter registration, voter rolls, the data transmission to the state-level offices and election-related websites. The decentralized nature of the voting process, which is run by states and counties, makes it impossible to ensure a high level of security in each district, according to experts interviewed by the Washington Post. In particular, there is concern about electronic balloting from overseas that travels on vulnerable networks before landing in the United States.
A series of cyber attacks on the electoral system makes it unlikely that the Russian goal could be to promote a candidate, i.e Donald Trump. It is more likely to be only part of a more complex strategy, a sort of plan B if Clinton wins, to discredit the whole process, spread chaos and throw the shadow of fraud and irregularities on the outcome of the vote.
In short, a way to gain a point even if (as it now seems more likely) Trump doesn’t win.
The Kremlin candidate
It’s no secret that Putin likes Donald Trump, and vice versa. Indeed, the Russian president was one of the first international figures to give his endorsement to the Republican candidate, during the year-end speech. ” He is a very flamboyant man, very talented, no doubt about that… He is the absolute leader of the presidential race, as we see it today. He says that he wants to move to another level of relations, to a deeper level of relations with Russia. How can we not welcome that?”, Putin said.
Trump has replied on several occasions, like when he revealed an anticipation of what could be his foreign policy: “Putin said I was brilliant. That proves a certain smartness. He hates Obama, Obama hates him. I would get along very well with Vladimir Putin”.
There must be a hand of Trump unofficial adviser on foreign affairs (as well as vice president-elect), Michael Flynn. A retired general and former military intelligence chief from 2012 to 2014 who makes cooperation with Russia his mantra, Flynn is often guest of the Russian state channel in English RT and, after having resigned from the secret services a year before the end of his term without explanation, was pictured in Moscow at the same table with Putin at a banquet celebrating 10 years of RT.
Not to mention Carter Page, Trump’s official adviser on foreign issues, who has been an adviser for Gazprom, (the state energy giant that feeds the Kremlin’s coffers), in which by his own admission owns shares. And Paul Manafort, until last month in charge of Trump’s campaign manager, until he was forced to resign after it was discovered his role as a spin doctor of Viktor Yanukovich, the former Ukrainian president overthrown by the Maidan.
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From the endorsement to Trump, to Kremlin’s hackers intrusions in the election campaign, the Russian interest in the US presidential is a crescendo. To the point to fear the worst.
