Russians targeted 21 election systems, U.S. official says

[webfact]

Russians targeted 21 election systems, U.S. official says

By Dustin Volz and Julia Edwards Ainsley

 

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Department of Homeland Security emblem is pictured at the National Cybersecurity & Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) located just outside Washington in Arlington, Virginia September 24, 2010. REUTERS/Hyungwon Kang/File Photo

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Russian hackers targeted 21 U.S. state election systems in the 2016 presidential race and a small number were breached but there was no evidence any votes were manipulated, a Homeland Security Department official told Congress on Wednesday.

 

Jeanette Manfra, the department's acting deputy undersecretary of cyber security, testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

 

U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded the Kremlin orchestrated a wide-ranging influence operation that included email hacking and online propaganda to discredit Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and help Donald Trump, a Republican, win the White House in November.

 

The Russia issue has cast a shadow over Trump's first five months in office. The extent of interference by Russian hackers, and whether they or others could interfere in future elections, has been the source of speculation and media reports for months.

 

Russia has repeatedly denied responsibility for any cyber attacks during the election. Trump has variously said Russia may or may not have been responsible for hacking but has dismissed allegations his associates colluded with Moscow as "fake news."

 

Manfra and other officials testifying on Wednesday said U.S. elections are resilient to hacking in part because they are decentralized and largely operated on the state and local level.

 

Senator Angus King, an independent from Maine who caucuses with the Democrats, voiced scepticism, saying only a small number of votes in key battleground states would need to be altered to tip the scales in an election.

 

"A sophisticated actor could hack an election simply by focusing on certain counties," King said. "I don't think it works just to say it’s a big system and diversity will protect us."

 

Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate panel, expressed frustration at Manfra's refusal to identify which states had been targeted. Arizona and Illinois last year confirmed that hackers had targeted their voter registration systems.

 

Samuel Liles, another senior DHS cyber official, likened states targeted or scanned to a thief walking by homes to scout for weaknesses, and breaches to breaking through a front door.

 

INVESTIGATION

 

Special Counsel Robert Mueller, a former FBI director, met on Wednesday with senior Senate Judiciary Committee members to ensure there was no conflict between his investigation of potential collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign and the panel's probe of what led to Trump firing Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey.

 

Trump acknowledged on Friday he was under investigation in the probe of alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 race and possible collusion by his campaign, and seemed to assail the Justice Department official overseeing the inquiry.

 

Mueller was examining whether Trump or others sought to obstruct the probe, a person familiar with the inquiry told Reuters.

Jeh Johnson, who led the Homeland Security Department until the end of the Obama administration, told the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee his department had issued warnings about hacking into voter registration databases.

 

Asked why the Obama administration did not do more to warn the public, Johnson said: "We were very concerned that we would not be perceived as taking sides in the election, injecting ourselves into a very heated campaign."

 

He told the House committee, which is investigating alleged Russian meddling in the election, that the notices did not get the attention he would have liked, blaming the emergence of a 2005 videotape - in which Trump brags about sexual conquests - for distracting the American public.

 

(Additional reporting by Susan Heavey; Writing by Phil Stewart; Editing by James Dalgleish)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-06-22

[rucus7]

As an American I am biased. I have never voted for a Republican. I think TV members from other countries should weigh in as to how Trump is perceived by the rest of the world. 

[darksidedog]

8 minutes ago, rucus7 said:

As an American I am biased. I have never voted for a Republican. I think TV members from other countries should weigh in as to how Trump is perceived by the rest of the world. 

Happy to help you out there. Trump is first and foremost an outrageous liar, who just seems to come out with whatever rubbish he feels like, simply ignoring the truth of the matter and then repeating his lies that the uneducated and dumb blind followers mindlessly soak in and repeat.

He is mean spirited and a bully. He is an idiot, with no idea what he is doing. He has no respect for the Constitution and law in general. He has no true grasp of world politics, the Environment or how a President is supposed to behave. No decorum, no tact, no manners.

He is an embarrassment and is a laughing stock around the world. His ignorance also makes him dangerous.

In short, he is considered by myself and pretty much everyone else I know as the worst, most poorly qualified person to ever become President.

I had though G.W. was the worst President possible, but he now looks amazing in comparison.

God must truly hate America, if trump is the best they could come up with.

[mamypoko]

Good news, no actual votes manipulated. Bad news, plenty of flyover State minds were.

 

It's going to be exciting to read the book in 20 years on how we retaliated.

 

[55Jay]

1 hour ago, rucus7 said:

As an American I am biased. I have never voted for a Republican. I think TV members from other countries should weigh in as to how Trump is perceived by the rest of the world. 

Regardless of your political preference, do you have an opinion thus far on the overall issue in the OP?  

 

[boomerangutang]

47 minutes ago, mamypoko said:

Good news, no actual votes manipulated. Bad news, plenty of flyover State minds were.

It's going to be exciting to read the book in 20 years on how we retaliated.

That part of the news report (no votes manipulated) is misleading BS.

 

What they mean to say (and it's articulated in other, better reported articles) is that THE MECHANICAL VOTE TALLYING PROCESSES were not manipulated.   It doesn't mean that voters' impulses weren't affected by the Russian interference.  There is no feasible way to gauge to what extent voters' perceptions/opinions were affected.   To do so, would be to survey all voters often, during the campaign at, let's say, 2 month intervals over a year - TO GAUGE WHAT THEY THOUGHT BEFORE and DURING THE CAMPAIGN, .....AND HOW THEY ACTUALLY VOTED.   All anyone knows is the actual vote tally.   NONE OF US KNOWS, NOT EVEN TOP INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES, HOW INDIVIDUAL VOTERS' MINDS CHANGED DURING THE PROCESS.

 

                      Trump and his fans, in their profound ignorance, will grasp onto the "no actual votes manipulated" silliness as proof that the Russian influence (5 online hits per second, 24/7) was a nothingburger. 

 

 

 

[SOUTHERNSTAR]

Yet again no evidence just talk talk talk. If you look at what Vault 7 have shown us we know that software and techniques exist that hackers can use to hack  someone and leave evidence that will point the finger at someone else. Why would Russia hackers hack the US and leave evidence pointing at them, they are pro's and will never do it. This is similar as the CNN claim the other day that the Russians hacked Qatar, the truth is it came from the middle east. How many times have we not seen this in the recent pasf, so called experts that claim one thing just to be disproved by actual facts later on. Its warmongering and it will bring us to a nuclear war. 

[SOUTHERNSTAR]

10 minutes ago, boomerangutang said:

That part of the news report (no votes manipulated) is misleading BS.

 

What they mean to say (and it's articulated in other, better reported articles) is that THE MECHANICAL VOTE TALLYING PROCESSES were not manipulated.   It doesn't mean that voters' impulses weren't affected by the Russian interference.  There is no feasible way to gauge to what extent voters' perceptions/opinions were affected.   To do so, would be to survey all voters often, during the campaign at, let's say, 2 month intervals over a year - TO GAUGE WHAT THEY THOUGHT BEFORE and DURING THE CAMPAIGN, .....AND HOW THEY ACTUALLY VOTED.   All anyone knows is the actual vote tally.   NONE OF US KNOWS, NOT EVEN TOP INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES, HOW INDIVIDUAL VOTERS' MINDS CHANGED DURING THE PROCESS.

 

                      Trump and his fans, in their profound ignorance, will grasp onto the "no actual votes manipulated" silliness as proof that the Russian influence (5 online hits per second, 24/7) was a nothingburger. 

 

 

 

So they must have hacked the Georgia election also because you lost that in this week. When you loose 2020 you will still blame the Russians instead of taking ownership of your failed policies and candidates. By the way I am not an American, just someone thats amused by the Democrats total lack of accountability for their failures. 

[Emster23]

What really bothers me is that neither Trump nor AG Sessions asked FBI or other intelligence agencies about Russian hacking (which is still happening). Didn't they swear to protect America against all enemies, foreign and domestic? Their silence and lack of concern speaks volumes.

[anon467367354]

1 hour ago, darksidedog said:

Happy to help you out there. Trump is first and foremost an outrageous liar, who just seems to come out with whatever rubbish he feels like, simply ignoring the truth of the matter and then repeating his lies that the uneducated and dumb blind followers mindlessly soak in and repeat.

He is mean spirited and a bully. He is an idiot, with no idea what he is doing. He has no respect for the Constitution and law in general. He has no true grasp of world politics, the Environment or how a President is supposed to behave. No decorum, no tact, no manners.

He is an embarrassment and is a laughing stock around the world. His ignorance also makes him dangerous.

In short, he is considered by myself and pretty much everyone else I know as the worst, most poorly qualified person to ever become President.

I had though G.W. was the worst President possible, but he now looks amazing in comparison.

God must truly hate America, if trump is the best they could come up with.

Now if this doesn't define a troll post I don't know what does!

No facts, no opinions stated, no sources, not even anonymous unnamed sources.

This looks to me like typical radical left wing extremist rhetoric with all the name calling of course taken right out of the DNC play book

with footnotes by Saul Alinsky. Why are we still seeing this kind of trash, does it really work and on who?

[SOUTHERNSTAR]

Here is the reason why the Democrates are losing election after election: Michael Moore tweets "...get a <deleted>' clue. The DNC&DCCC has NO idea how 2 win cause they have no message, no plan, no leaders, won't fight &hate the resistance 1:15 AM - 22 Jun 2017". The Russiaphobia today is the same as what occurred in the fifties, which was nothing but witch hunts which ruined innocent people's lives. Instead of blaming Russia for everything look inwards and correct what is wrong inside the party. The DNC pushed a toxic candidate in HRC and lost because she was arrogant and disconnected from the people. If the DNC pushed for Bernie we may have had a Dems president now and that can't be blamed on the Russians. The DNC leaks was not Russia but a DNC employee, Assange confirmed this several times. Stop blaming other people for your failures and man up.

[timkeen08]

Happy to help you out there. Trump is first and foremost an outrageous liar, who just seems to come out with whatever rubbish he feels like, simply ignoring the truth of the matter and then repeating his lies that the uneducated and dumb blind followers mindlessly soak in and repeat.
He is mean spirited and a bully. He is an idiot, with no idea what he is doing. He has no respect for the Constitution and law in general. He has no true grasp of world politics, the Environment or how a President is supposed to behave. No decorum, no tact, no manners.
He is an embarrassment and is a laughing stock around the world. His ignorance also makes him dangerous.
In short, he is considered by myself and pretty much everyone else I know as the worst, most poorly qualified person to ever become President.
I had though G.W. was the worst President possible, but he now looks amazing in comparison.
God must truly hate America, if trump is the best they could come up with.

So, most of you are telling us that the Donald has all of the same qualities of all other previous US Presidents but is just not afraid to show it, doesn't care if he shows it, is too stupid to worry about showing it, and shows us that he speaks on the spur of the moment without thinking first. That's the only difference I see between him and all other past US presidents. At least he is not boring. To his credit, Mr. President has made America number one for appearing in all media everywhere, fake or real, concerning political, self, or world issues and as well in social media posts-comments etc... The Donald is even famous enough to have made it into the posts here, repeatedly. Yeah, America is on the top again! As I have personally stated many times when asked if I will go back to America - I love America but I do not like America. I have never voted because I really don't care who is in office and it makes no difference who is running our runaway government. But, I will always love America even though I think that America's god is definitely not blessing us. So instead, god bless Thailand.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

[Traveler19491]

3 hours ago, rucus7 said:

As an American I am biased. I have never voted for a Republican. I think TV members from other countries should weigh in as to how Trump is perceived by the rest of the world. 

I'm American also, but there is a large expat community where I live and almost to a person they all think that Trump is a buffoon, enormously unqualified to govern. This includes English, Irish, Scots, Welsh, Australians, Dutch, Norwegians, Swiss, Germans and even a few Thais. Several of these individuals are reasonably conservative in their political opinions, and even they can not understand how Americans could manage to elect someone so egregiously unqualified, inept, and completely lacking in even the most basic of social political, and diplomatic etiquette.

[Baerboxer]

Regardless of reality, if something is repeated often enough, elaborated on, repeated some more, etc etc, then eventually parts of it become embedded as "fact".

 

Trump shook the "establishment" as he beat their anointed candidate. Now they are trying to find a way to get back control, because they can't control him, anyway they can. 

 

Quite frankly, all this repeated mumbo jumbo is just that.  The US establishment play on anti Russian sentiments just as the Tory right wing play on anti immigration fears.

 

Trump may well prove to be a complete moron who really understands very little and deliver bugger all. 

 

But put in office by a Russian conspiracy - more Hollywood than reality. He's more likely to end up warring with the Russians how thinks are going rather than being their best mate.

[iReason]

Congress hears sinister tale of Russia election meddling

 

"WASHINGTON (AP) — A sinister portrait of Russia's cyberattacks on the U.S. emerged Wednesday as current and former U.S. officials told Congress Moscow stockpiled stolen information and selectively disseminated it during the 2016 presidential campaign to undermine the American political process."

 

"The Russians "used fake news and propaganda and they also used online amplifiers to spread the information to as many people as possible," Bill Priestap, the FBI's top counterintelligence official, told the Senate Intelligence committee."

 

"While he said the Russians had conducted covert operations targeting past American elections, the internet "has allowed Russia to do so much more" than before, but he added, the "scale and aggressiveness" was different this time, with the primary goal being to sow discord and aid the candidacy of Republican Donald Trump, the eventual winner."

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/21/the-associated-press-congress-hears-sinister-tale-of-russia-election-meddling.html

[iReason]

2 hours ago, SOUTHERNSTAR said:

Yet again no evidence just talk talk talk.

 

Yet another Trumpeteer who desperately hopes prosecutors and investigators will reveal their sources and evidence during ongoing investigations.

 

News flash:

It does not happen.

[alocacoc]

 

3 hours ago, SOUTHERNSTAR said:

So they must have hacked the Georgia election also because you lost that in this week. When you loose 2020 you will still blame the Russians instead of taking ownership of your failed policies and candidates. By the way I am not an American, just someone thats amused by the Democrats total lack of accountability for their failures. 

So true. The Democrats and Trump-haters are like headless chickens. Only whining and blaming. 555

[heybruce]

3 hours ago, Emster23 said:

What really bothers me is that neither Trump nor AG Sessions asked FBI or other intelligence agencies about Russian hacking (which is still happening). Didn't they swear to protect America against all enemies, foreign and domestic? Their silence and lack of concern speaks volumes.

Good point.  An attack on US elections is an attack on US democracy, yet the only thing Trump is pushing for is a halt to the investigation.  At the very least this is dereliction of duty, if not treason.

[heybruce]

16 minutes ago, alocacoc said:

 

So true. The Democrats and Trump-haters are like headless chickens. Only whining and blaming. 555

Actually Democrats and Republicans in Congress are investigating this attack on the democratic process.  It's Trump who's whining and complaining, and not doing much else.

[carbine1125]

Sour grapes! Get over it and choose your next candidate wisely. Really, if the republicans had fronted a monkey against Hillary, the monkey would have won. Blame your own party for bad choices.

 

[heybruce]

13 minutes ago, carbine1125 said:

Sour grapes! Get over it and choose your next candidate wisely. Really, if the republicans had fronted a monkey against Hillary, the monkey would have won. Blame your own party for bad choices.

 

What has this got to do with the OP?  Russia attempted to influence the last Presidential election by illegal hacking and targeted fake news on social media, and will attempt to influence future elections.  They will eventually succeed if nothing is done, and apparently Trump wants to do nothing about this.  Are you ok with that?

[iReason]

19 minutes ago, carbine1125 said:

Sour grapes! Get over it and choose your next candidate wisely.

 

More knee jerk, pointless, one dimensional gibberish.

[Traveler19491]

1 hour ago, Baerboxer said:

Regardless of reality, if something is repeated often enough, elaborated on, repeated some more, etc etc, then eventually parts of it become embedded as "fact".

 

Trump shook the "establishment" as he beat their anointed candidate. Now they are trying to find a way to get back control, because they can't control him, anyway they can. 

 

Quite frankly, all this repeated mumbo jumbo is just that.  The US establishment play on anti Russian sentiments just as the Tory right wing play on anti immigration fears.

 

Trump may well prove to be a complete moron who really understands very little and deliver bugger all. 

 

But put in office by a Russian conspiracy - more Hollywood than reality. He's more likely to end up warring with the Russians how thinks are going rather than being their best mate.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but this is not the case. Pretty much all Americans accept that Trump was elected and no, they are not "trying to find a way to get back control". What this investigation is all about is determining to what extent Russia meddled in our election (keep in mind, this was our election, that of a sovereign nation. We don't really appreciate somebody messing with our electoral process. We do a fine job of that all by ourselves.) along with what extent, if any, Trump and or his minions aided or encouraged them. And when all 17 or our intelligence agencies concur that the Russians did, in fact, do their damnedest to meddle, then that does not meet the standard of playing "on anti-Russian sentiments". The Russians meddled. Any negative sentiments that exist they managed to create all by themselves. No one is asserting that Trump was "put in office by a Russian conspiracy". What is being investigated is how they interfered, to what extent, if any, Trump or his band of bumbling idiots helped, to what degree, if any, it aided in Trump's win, and how to prevent it in the future.

[Traveler19491]

4 hours ago, SOUTHERNSTAR said:

Here is the reason why the Democrates are losing election after election: Michael Moore tweets "...get a <deleted>' clue. The DNC&DCCC has NO idea how 2 win cause they have no message, no plan, no leaders, won't fight &hate the resistance 1:15 AM - 22 Jun 2017". The Russiaphobia today is the same as what occurred in the fifties, which was nothing but witch hunts which ruined innocent people's lives. Instead of blaming Russia for everything look inwards and correct what is wrong inside the party. The DNC pushed a toxic candidate in HRC and lost because she was arrogant and disconnected from the people. If the DNC pushed for Bernie we may have had a Dems president now and that can't be blamed on the Russians. The DNC leaks was not Russia but a DNC employee, Assange confirmed this several times. Stop blaming other people for your failures and man up.

I have to agree with you on this one. The reason that the Democrats can't win an election is because of the current unprincipled, immoral, and elitist cadre of "leadership" they insist on clinging to. Pelosi is pathetic, as is Debbie Wasserman Schultz and the rest of the neo-liberal elitists who have a death grip on the party. They have next to nothing to offer voters in terms of a genuine alternative. They are funded by the same corporate entities and lobbyists who own the RNC. None of them have a genuine Progressive bone in their bodies. They are looking out for themselves and themselves only. You are correct in that Clinton was toxic. She is just more of the same. But the DNC wanted a coronation of their queen and so engineered the defeat of the overwhelming favorite of the Democrat base, as well as the centrists who were looking for real change. So they lost. Same thing in Georgia. Ossoff ran offered little in the way of substantive difference from Clinton and the DNC "leadership". Until the voters on the left become seriously energized and determine to either take the party back, or form a third party that speaks to what the country wants, they will continue to lose elections. People are fed up with voting for the "lesser of two evils", which is about all we've been given for a long time now, both in our Presidential candidates and those running for Congress.

 

However, have to disagree about the "Russiaphobia" and "witch hunt" thingies. Russia hacked our election. Proven. We don't care much for any attack on our democratic process, any more than you would on yours (if you're not American). No one's life will be destroyed...unless they aided in the process. Then, their life should be destroyed, as they were complicit in an attack on our democracy and our Constitutional principles. 

[nasanews]

People who voted for Trump and still have hopes in him are more stupid and naive than him.  Never thought Americans could be as dumb.

[Thaidream]

It is fact that the Russians or their surrogates attempted to influence the American election process. Any American  would want to know what waas the extent and what was the ultimate purpose and was there any collusion between Trump or his minions.  I for one doubt Trump himself was a party to the actual manipulation but if he was aware later- I doubt he would have objected.  His past suggests he acts in an amoral way.

 

He was elected President simply out of desperation by a large group of Americans so affected by the 2008 financial collapse that they lost all faith in Government.  The collapse of the financial markets was a crime and yet no one was prosecuted and jailed and many of the perpetrators bailed out. While changes were made in the laws regarding  financial practice this did not help the average American who lost their job; their home and their cars and even their spouses. The corruption of the system allowed this to happen and the US Government allowed the banks and huge investment industries to continue operation unabated.

 

In addition, Trump used the spectre of failed Immigration (the Mexicans are taking your job); fear of a terrorist attack (It's the Muslims and they are in America);  Obamacare  has failed (your premiums will go up 200%) and Trump indicated only he could make America great again because he was not from the Government but a prosperous businessman who knows how to get things done. In addition, he was up against a weak candidate who could not articulate an agenda that would address all the anger and fears middle America has. The sad thing is that Bernie Sanders actually did articulate a plan and an agenda that would have addressed the anger and fears of all Americans and had he been allowed to run- really could have made America great again.  Sanders knows that the real problem in America is the vast misdirection of wealth into the hands of the 1% and paid for my the sweat of the 99%.  The key to the American economy is a complete redistribution of wealth away from the 1% back into the hands of the 99% so all Americans can prosper.

 

Donald Trump has done nothing for America and will do nothing because his focus is on border walls; blocking immigrants and immigration; sending more Americans to places like Afghanistan and Syria; creating tax cuts for the wealthy and ignoring all the real things that Americans need to prosper. Trump just doesn't have the intelligence to see that his inner circle are completely manipulating him to establish an alt right agenda that will set America back for decades. 

 

One of the most frustrating things about this whole charade is that money politics continues to drive every election and in the end there is little hope that a person of real integrity who will bring real change to the American people will even be nominated let alone elected. The first American Revolution was fought to bring freedom to America and put it in charge of its own destiny. The Second American Revolution will be fought again to free Americans from an oppressive system created by the elite for the elite .

 

[nervona81732]

That's a load of crap! DHS hacked the elections! they are claiming that ( hey look over there while they life your wallet ) old time scam.

[iReason]

11 minutes ago, nervona81732 said:

That's a load of crap! DHS hacked the elections! they are claiming that ( hey look over there while they life your wallet ) old time scam.

 

 

What?

 

The Department of Homeland Security hacked the elections?

 

Is this a new InfoWars theory?

 

Or are you just Trolling?

[kbelyeu]

14 hours ago, SOUTHERNSTAR said:

So they must have hacked the Georgia election also because you lost that in this week. When you loose 2020 you will still blame the Russians instead of taking ownership of your failed policies and candidates. By the way I am not an American, just someone thats amused by the Democrats total lack of accountability for their failures. 

 

Nailed it.. 

[heybruce]

15 hours ago, SOUTHERNSTAR said:

Yet again no evidence just talk talk talk. If you look at what Vault 7 have shown us we know that software and techniques exist that hackers can use to hack  someone and leave evidence that will point the finger at someone else. Why would Russia hackers hack the US and leave evidence pointing at them, they are pro's and will never do it. This is similar as the CNN claim the other day that the Russians hacked Qatar, the truth is it came from the middle east. How many times have we not seen this in the recent pasf, so called experts that claim one thing just to be disproved by actual facts later on. Its warmongering and it will bring us to a nuclear war. 

 

15 hours ago, SOUTHERNSTAR said:

So they must have hacked the Georgia election also because you lost that in this week. When you loose 2020 you will still blame the Russians instead of taking ownership of your failed policies and candidates. By the way I am not an American, just someone thats amused by the Democrats total lack of accountability for their failures. 

Not an American, so I take it you are just trolling.

 

First post is pure conspiracy theory, supplemented with your assumption that Russia can commit a perfect hacking crime, ending with the conclusion that investigating evidence of Russian hacking will lead to nuclear war.

 

Second post is pure effluence.  Nobody is claiming the Georgia election was hacked, you are just trying to derail the topic and deflect attention from Russian hacking.

 

I'll trust the expertise of US intelligence agencies, staffed and managed with a large number of Republicans and Democrats, over a troll.