U.S. military hackers have been given the go-ahead to gain access to Russian cybersystems as part of potential retaliation for any meddling in America’s elections.
By Zachary Fryer-Biggs, Center for Public Integrity
The
U.S. intelligence community and the Pentagon have quietly agreed on the
outlines of an offensive cyberattack that the United States would
unleash if Russia electronically interferes with the 2018 midterm
election on Nov. 6, according to current and former senior U.S.
officials who are familiar with the plan.
In preparation for its
potential use, U.S. military hackers have been given the go-ahead to
gain access to Russian cybersystems that they feel is needed to let the
plan unfold quickly, the officials said.
The effort constitutes
one of the first major cyberbattle plans organized under a new
government policy enabling potential offensive operations to proceed
more quickly once the parameters have been worked out in advance and
agreed among key agencies.
While U.S. national-security officials
have so far reported only intermittent efforts by Russian sources to
compromise political organizations and campaigns, they have been
worried—in the aftermath of Russia’s digital contact with U.S. election
systems in 2016—that Moscow might unleash more aggressive interference
in the hours before voting begins, while the polls are open, or when the
votes are being tabulated.
The existence of such a plan means
that America is more fully integrating offensive cyberattacks into its
overall military planning systems, a move likely to make cybercombat
more likely and eventually more commonplace, sometimes without first
gaining specific presidential approval. Cyberattacks are now on a more
obvious path, in short, to becoming a regular currency of warfare.
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Source: The Daily Beast
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