Expanding on weekend reports that the US had been carrying out cyberattacks against Russia’s electricity grid and other infrastructure, Russian news agencies are quoting unnamed security sources who say that the US attacks were thwarted.
Kremlin officials said they consider the reports “worrying,” and that a major cyber war was possible. Security officials said that so far they remain able to neutralize all of the US attempts to infiltrate and plant malware in the systems.
President Trump reacted furiously to the New York Times reporting on the attacks, calling them “treasonous,” and going on a tirade about the newspapers being the enemy of the people. Trump’s denial of the report may not have been dishonesty on his part.
Rather, Pentagon and intelligence officials involved in the attack said there was “broad hesitation” to brief Trump in detail about specific cyber attacks. They expressed concern over his reaction, and whether he might either countermand it, or disclose it in conversations with foreign officials.
Between Congress and the administration, Cyber Command has been given broad leeway to carry out attacks without presidential approval. Though it had generally been assumed that hadn’t meant carrying out overt attacks without even telling the president, that appears as if it may not be the case, which may in the end be the most worrying part of the entire story.
As contributor TTG discusses over at Colonel Pat Lang’s blog, there is a difference between “intelligence probing” cyberattacks on a foreign adversary’s infrastructure and attacks meant to damage or prepare to damage that infrastructure. The latter is “crossing a line” which countries – including the US – usually do not want to cross as it inevitably leads to escalation and possibly dangerous conflict.
It’s one thing, TTG says, to conduct an attack like Stuxnet against Iran and another to do one against a peer nuclear power like Russia.
“US Ramps Up Online Attacks on Russian Power Grid, NYT Says” – TTG
https://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/2019/06/us-ramps-up-online-attacks-on-russian-power-grid-nyt-says-ttg.html
Fortunately with Kaspersky and other cyber specialists in Russia any US attempt will be thwarted. Otherwise it could only take one moron in US cyber command to commit an act of war on Russia leading to immense blow back.
This just shows that Trump has no ballz and is a coward in facing down the Pentagon and the CIA,,he still does not realize he is the POTUS. What a let down he has been.
The USA (with or without Trump!) is taking a great risk, as it is extremely likely that if the Russians decided to act in a similar way, the USA would lose bigly; !!
This bi-partisan effort to demonize Russia is only a cover for the real foreign collusion going on, that with Israel. They get regular data feeds from the NSA and are actively influencing our electoral process through such Mossad fronts such as Black Cube and Cambridge Analytica.
When the Russia-phobia thingy runs its course wake me up. Such a waste of energy and time. Snore…
Thomas, the real Masters Of The Universe are those operating the now famous “Tic Tacs”. Everybody best wake up about what may very well be coming right around the corner. All was ‘peachy keen’ just before December 7th 1941, and 911, asleep at the wheel, then all hell broke lose, that is how quick it may happen again.