Microsoft: Russians targeted conservative think tanks, U.S. Senate

The Russian intelligence office that breached the Democratic National Committee in 2016 has spoofed websites associated with the U.S. Senate and conservative think tanks in a further attempt to sow discord, according to new research from Microsoft. The tech giant last week executed a court order and shut down six internet domains set up by the Kremlin-linked hacking group known as Fancy Bear or APT 28, Microsoft President Brad Smith said. “We have now used this approach 12 times in two years to shut down 84 fake websites associated with this group,” Smith wrote in a blog post. “We’re concerned that these and other attempts pose security threats to a broadening array of groups connected with both American political parties in the run-up to the 2018 elections.” The domains were constructed to look like they belonged to the Hudson Institute and International Republican Institute, but were in fact phishing websites […]

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McCaul: U.S. should go on the cyber offensive if Russia hacks midterms

The United States should respond with offensive cyber operations if the Russian government tries to meddle in the 2018 U.S. midterm elections like it did in the 2016 presidential election, according to an influential Republican lawmaker. “Personally, if [the Russians] attempt to do that again in the 2018 midterms, I think there should be an offensive response to it,” Texas Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, told reporters Wednesday. In January 2017, the U.S. intelligence community concluded that Russian government-linked hackers meddled in the 2016 presidential election as part of a broad Kremlin-backed effort to help elect U.S. President Donald Trump. Over the last several months, senior U.S. intelligence officials have repeatedly warned of the possibility of renewed Russian information operations ahead of midterm elections this fall. While nothing on the scale of the 2016 meddling has been detected yet for the 2018 cycle, a public […]

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Trump’s refusal to call out Russian hacking provokes swift, sharp backlash

President Donald Trump drew sharp criticism Monday from former intelligence officials and lawmakers after refusing to acknowledge or condemn Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election while standing alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin. Following a closed-door tête-à-tête in Helsinki, Finland, the two leaders held a joint 45-minute press conference. During the wide-ranging session, among other things, the sitting U.S. president publicly declined to back the unanimous findings of his own U.S. intelligence community – that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election, through a series of cyberattacks and carefully orchestrated information campaigns. “They said they think it’s Russia; I have asked President Putin, he just said ‘It’s not Russia,” Trump said. “I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today.” Within an hour, former intelligence chiefs were panning Trump and his statements at the press […]

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Senate mulls subpoena to force White House cyber czar to testify on cybersecurity

Sen. John McCain and the Senate Armed Services Committee railed against the Trump administration on Thursday when White House cybersecurity coordinator Rob Joyce failed to show up to a hearing focused on defending against cyberattacks. Thursday’s hearing quickly became contentious when the White House only offered up an empty chair despite Joyce being invited to appear alongside senior officials from the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security and the FBI. McCain, R-Arizona, led a chorus of sharp attacks against the White House culminating in the suggestion of using a subpoena to force Joyce to testify and the promise of a full committee meeting to evaluate the committee’s options and the excuse cited by the White House because of “executive privilege” and “precedent against having nonconfirmed [National Security Council] staff testifying before Congress.” As the White House cyber czar, Joyce’s power and responsibilities lay at the heart of the topic of today’s senate hearing which […]

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Former NSA director: It’s time to trash the federal cybersecurity hierarchy

Former NSA Director Keith Alexander told senators Thursday that the government should undertake a massive reorganization effort that would consolidate some current cybersecurity responsibilities split between the FBI, Homeland Security Department, Defense Department and intelligence community, into a single entity. “When we talk to the agencies they don’t understand their roles and responsibilities,” said Alexander, […]

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