Senate Committee Recommends Measures to Counter Russia Meddling in Midterms
Senate Committee Recommends Measures to Counter Russia Meddling in Midterms | The Weekly Standard
Top lawmakers on the Senate Intelligence Committee investigating Russian election interference on Tuesday marked the end of a critical portion of their probe focused on election security, and offered up a preview of the panel's recommendations to counter foreign meddling in the midst of the 2018 elections.
"Let me say this with a great deal of confidence: It is clear the Russian government was looking for the vulnerabilities in our election system and highlighted some of the key gaps," said intelligence committee chairman Richard Burr, who was flanked by other committee members.
Department of Homeland Security officials have said that Russian-linked operatives targeted 21 states ahead of the 2016 election, but that no vote tallies were changed. They were successful in penetrating at least one voter database.
The panel's top Democrat Mark Warner expressed what he described as a sense of disappointment among committee members with the government's lack of preparation for 2016 cyberattacks.
"In the aftermath of this information coming out it actually took the Department of Homeland Security nearly nine months to notify the top election officials that their state systems had been messed with," said Warner.
Warner and other members acknowledged that DHS had ramped up its efforts in the last year.
In a release laying out the committee's initial recommendations circulated Tuesday, the panel said that DHS "must create clear channels of communication" between the federal government and state and local governments. DHS should also "expedite security clearances for appropriate state and local officials"--an issue that the Department has said acted as a barrier to information sharing in 2016. In the same vein, the panel advised the intelligence community to declassify information "quickly, whenever possible, to provide warning to appropriate state and local officials."
In terms of improving infrastructure itself, the committee put the onus on states to "rapidly replace outdated and vulnerable voting systems."
"There were still 40 states that were operating with election equipment that was more than a decade old, and much of that equipment had outdated software that you weren't even able to upgrade," Warner said.
California senator Kamala Harris emphasized the utility of paper ballots, which she said "might be one of the smartest systems" considering today's cyber vulnerabilities.
"Russia cannot hack a piece of paper like they can a computer system connected to the Internet," she said. The committee's recommendations advised not connecting machines to Wi-Fi.
The panel also included a key suggestion on messaging: "The U.S. Government should clearly communicate to adversaries that an attack on our election infrastructure is a hostile act, and we will respond accordingly." Trump administration officials announced long-awaited sanctions last week targeting Russian entities and individuals over election meddling and cyber attacks.
The Senate Intelligence Committee has been investigating 2016 Russian election interference for over a year. Their probe includes a review of the January intelligence community assessment, "counterintelligence concerns" including any links between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign, and Russia cyber activity and active measures targeting the U.S.
U.S. intelligence chiefs have told lawmakers that Russia is looking to influence the 2018 elections. In addition to election infrastructure-related cyber activity, the Kremlin in 2016 worked to influence the election through state-run propaganda, social media, and targeted leaks.
"Russia perceives its past efforts as successful and views the 2018 U.S. midterm elections as a potential target for Russian influence operations," Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats told the Senate intelligence panel in mid-February.
Top lawmakers have called for increased funding, including through grants, to expose and counter Russian meddling ahead of the 2018 elections.
"Several of our states don't even have back-up paper ballots if there was a hack," Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar told reporters in February.* "Many of our states have not updated their equipment for over 10 years, and the Russians know that."
Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee, meanwhile, have said that they've completed a draft report for their panel's Russia probe that features more than 40 initial findings. They said that they found no evidence of collusion and that they agreed with a January intelligence community assessment "except with respect to Putin's supposed preference for candidate Trump."
Democrats have slammed Republicans for ending that probe, describing the move as "another tragic milestone for this Congress" and "another capitulation to the executive branch."
*Correction, March 20: This article mistakenly referred to Minnesota Amy Klobuchar by the first name of Lauren.
Top lawmakers on the Senate Intelligence Committee investigating Russian election interference on Tuesday marked the end of a critical portion of their probe focused on election security, and offered up a preview of the panel's recommendations to counter foreign meddling in the midst of the 2018 elections.
"Let me say this with a great deal of confidence: It is clear the Russian government was looking for the vulnerabilities in our election system and highlighted some of the key gaps," said intelligence committee chairman Richard Burr, who was flanked by other committee members.
Department of Homeland Security officials have said that Russian-linked operatives targeted 21 states ahead of the 2016 election, but that no vote tallies were changed. They were successful in penetrating at least one voter database.
The panel's top Democrat Mark Warner expressed what he described as a sense of disappointment among committee members with the government's lack of preparation for 2016 cyberattacks.
"In the aftermath of this information coming out it actually took the Department of Homeland Security nearly nine months to notify the top election officials that their state systems had been messed with," said Warner.
Warner and other members acknowledged that DHS had ramped up its efforts in the last year.
In a release laying out the committee's initial recommendations circulated Tuesday, the panel said that DHS "must create clear channels of communication" between the federal government and state and local governments. DHS should also "expedite security clearances for appropriate state and local officials"--an issue that the Department has said acted as a barrier to information sharing in 2016. In the same vein, the panel advised the intelligence community to declassify information "quickly, whenever possible, to provide warning to appropriate state and local officials."
In terms of improving infrastructure itself, the committee put the onus on states to "rapidly replace outdated and vulnerable voting systems."
"There were still 40 states that were operating with election equipment that was more than a decade old, and much of that equipment had outdated software that you weren't even able to upgrade," Warner said.
California senator Kamala Harris emphasized the utility of paper ballots, which she said "might be one of the smartest systems" considering today's cyber vulnerabilities.
"Russia cannot hack a piece of paper like they can a computer system connected to the Internet," she said. The committee's recommendations advised not connecting machines to Wi-Fi.
The panel also included a key suggestion on messaging: "The U.S. Government should clearly communicate to adversaries that an attack on our election infrastructure is a hostile act, and we will respond accordingly." Trump administration officials announced long-awaited sanctions last week targeting Russian entities and individuals over election meddling and cyber attacks.
The Senate Intelligence Committee has been investigating 2016 Russian election interference for over a year. Their probe includes a review of the January intelligence community assessment, "counterintelligence concerns" including any links between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign, and Russia cyber activity and active measures targeting the U.S.
U.S. intelligence chiefs have told lawmakers that Russia is looking to influence the 2018 elections. In addition to election infrastructure-related cyber activity, the Kremlin in 2016 worked to influence the election through state-run propaganda, social media, and targeted leaks.
"Russia perceives its past efforts as successful and views the 2018 U.S. midterm elections as a potential target for Russian influence operations," Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats told the Senate intelligence panel in mid-February.
Top lawmakers have called for increased funding, including through grants, to expose and counter Russian meddling ahead of the 2018 elections.
"Several of our states don't even have back-up paper ballots if there was a hack," Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar told reporters in February.* "Many of our states have not updated their equipment for over 10 years, and the Russians know that."
Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee, meanwhile, have said that they've completed a draft report for their panel's Russia probe that features more than 40 initial findings. They said that they found no evidence of collusion and that they agreed with a January intelligence community assessment "except with respect to Putin's supposed preference for candidate Trump."
Democrats have slammed Republicans for ending that probe, describing the move as "another tragic milestone for this Congress" and "another capitulation to the executive branch."
*Correction, March 20: This article mistakenly referred to Minnesota Amy Klobuchar by the first name of Lauren.
