Russia using social media to divide Americans: U.S. homeland security official – National



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The United States homeland security secretary said it was targeting this year's midterm elections with the same "scale or scope" it would target the 2016 presidential election.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen spoke at A convention of state secretaries of state, an event that is usually a low-key affair highlighting vote registration, balloting devices and election security issues that do not get much public attention.

Nielsen said, "The goal is to get a lot more attention."

elsewhere. She said that US intelligence officials are "persistent".

READ MORE : 12 Russian intelligence officers indicted in Robert Mueller investigation

The conference of top state election officials was arrested on Friday morning. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin

Trump has never condemned Russia over meddling in the 2016 election despite the findings of US intelligence agencies, and the Kremlin has insisted it did not meddle in the US election . In the past, Trump has reiterated Putin's denials, but this week he said he would bring the issue when they meet on Monday in Finland.

"All I can do is say, 'Did you?'" Trump said yesterday at a news conference in Brussels. "And, 'Do not do it again.' But he may deny it."

WATCH: Trump attacks NBC news, says he's been 'extremely tough' on Russia







Some of the state officials who run elections say it's important for Trump, a Republican, to take a stance to avoid having the public's confidence in the elections undermined.

"I believe in commanding The United States Secretary of State Alex Padilla, a Democrat, said in an interview this week

"I do not go around telling the president what to do," said Jay Ashcroft, the Republican Secretary of State in Missouri.

READ MORE: Trump and Putin expected to discuss nuclear arms race at the upcoming meeting

Trump portrays the investigation as a partisan attack, but not all the Republicans see it that way. This month, the Republicans and Democrats on the US Senate Intelligence Committee backed the findings of an badessment of US intelligence agencies that Russia tried to interfere in the 2016 election and acted in favor of Trump and against his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.

As part of that effort, Russian hackers targeted at least 21 states in the United States, Illinois, investigators say. Without a vote, Friday's indictment says the Russian intelligence officers stole information about 500,000 voters.

There was no evidence of a successful outcome.

WATCH: Mike Pompeo says US exploring diplomatic 'trade-off's' with Russia in Putin summit approaches

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Federal officials also say it was possible that it might have been possible to prevent it from going into the future.

Washington, DC Secretary of State Kim Wyman, Republican, National Defense, Cyber ​​Security, Cybersecurity for Elections. She said it was important to make it clear that the military was not running at elections and that it was not going to be the same.

"Wyman said in an interview.

READ MORE: US election officials to meet in Philadelphia amid revelations of Russian meddling election

Homeland Security is becoming more helpful in sharing information.

On Friday, a federal grand jury indicted the 12th Russian intelligence officers on charges they hacked into. The indictment says one of the intrusions came that summer, one has sold the software. The indictment references a spoof email it says to the agents of the United States.

"The indictments tell us that … no longer can we deny in any shape or form that Russians were involved, "said cybersecurity expert Sam Woolley, of the Institute for the Future in Palo Alto, California.

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