[Infowarrior] - U.S. Intelligence Chiefs Dispute Trump Over Russian Hacking

[Richard Forno]

(the hearing is being live-streamed.  --rick)

U.S. Intelligence Chiefs Dispute Trump Over Russian Hacking

by Nafeesa Syeed

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-05/top-u-s-intel-officials-dispute-trump-s-doubts-on-russian-hacks

Only Russia’s most senior officials could have authorized the data theft and disclosures that took place during the 2016 election campaign, according to three top U.S. intelligence officials, disputing skepticism by President-elect Donald Trump that the government has proof in holding Russia responsible for the hacks.

In a joint statement to the Senate Armed Services Committee, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence Marcel Lettre and National Security Agency Director Admiral Michael Rogers said they stood by the intelligence community’s Oct. 7 finding that Russia interfered with U.S. political institutions last year. The three officials testified Thursday at a committee hearing on foreign cyber threats. Rogers is a finalist for Trump’s pick for the director of national intelligence.

At the hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Chairman John McCain called Russia’s hacking an  "unprecedented attack" on U.S. democracy. Alluding to criticism of the hacking accusations by Trump, the Arizona Republican said the goal isn’t to question the outcome of the presidential election, but he said "every American should be alarmed" by Russia’s attack.

Russia “poses a major threat” to U.S. government, military, diplomatic, commercial and critical infrastructure networks, the intelligence officials said in their statement. They also said the country has developed a “highly advanced offensive cyber program.”

“Looking forward, Russian cyber operations will likely target the United States to gather intelligence, support Russian decision-making, conduct influence operations to support Russian military and political objectives, and prepare the cyber environment for future contingencies,” their statement said.

The hearing -- called by McCain -- highlights a divide between Trump and some of his party’s most influential foreign policy hawks in Congress. The president-elect has repeatedly praised Russian President Vladimir Putin, while McCain and other lawmakers have said Russia should be punished with stiffer sanctions.

DNI chief Clapper, along with CIA Director John Brennan and FBI Director James Comey, will brief Trump Friday on the Russian hacks. In a series of tweets starting late Tuesday evening, Trump called an alleged delay in the briefing “very strange” and went on to quote an interview with fugitive WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who said on a Fox News opinion show this week that “a 14-year-old” could be responsible for computer breaches of Democratic Party offices last year. “Also said Russians did not give him the info!” Trump added in his posts.

Trump pushed back ahead of the hearing, saying on Twitter that “The dishonest media likes saying that I am in Agreement with Julian Assange - wrong. I simply state what he states, it is for the people...to make up their own minds as to the truth. The media lies to make it look like I am against ‘Intelligence’ when in fact I am a big fan!”

Clapper told the Senate panel that intelligence officials plan to brief Congress behind closed doors and release an unclassified version of their review to the public early next week.

‘Aggressive’ Posture

In recent years, the intelligence officials said in their statement, the Kremlin has assumed a more “aggressive cyber posture,” targeting government organizations, critical infrastructure, think tanks, universities, political organizations and corporations, often using phishing campaigns that give attackers access to computer networks. In some cases, Russian intelligence actors have “masqueraded as third parties” with false online identities to confuse the source of the hacking, they said.

Russian officials have repeatedly denied being involved in hacking attacks against the U.S.

More Than 30

The intelligence community and U.S. Cyber Command are “hardening” internal U.S. government systems. Still, as of late 2016, more than 30 nations are developing offensive cyber attack capabilities, the officials said in the statement. Other countries they named as cyber threats include China, Iran and North Korea. Terrorist groups are also using the internet to collect intelligence and incite action, such as Islamic State continuing to “seek opportunities to target and release sensitive information” about U.S. citizens.
Hackers continue to break into U.S. defense industry and commercial enterprises to obtain scientific, technical and business information, Clapper and his colleagues said.

“Adversaries are likely to further explore cyber-enabled psychological operations and may look to steal or manipulate data to gain strategic advantage or undermine confid