The trump administrator does not have a central strategy for election security, and no one is responsible

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump presided on Friday the first National Security Council, after nearly two years of calls for Russian electoral interference, a hoax and a investigation into a witch hunt. "The president has made it clear that his administration would not tolerate foreign interference in our elections from a nation-state or other malicious actors," the White House said in a statement. subsequently communicated.

But current and former officials tell NBC News that nineteen months after his presidency, there is no consistent Trump administration strategy to fight the interference of foreign elections – and not a single person or agency in charge

. challenged that, saying that a strategy was put in motion when Trump took office. No such strategy has been made public – or even mentioned before.

After the terrorists struck on September 11, the US government pbaded laws, spurred funding, and reorganized to ensure that such an attack would not happen again. But there have been no major changes in nearly two years that Russia has attempted to manipulate the 2016 elections, a cyber-aggression that some lawmakers have described as an act of war

. The Department of Homeland Security works with states to improve cybersecurity in voting systems. The FBI has created a "Working Group on Foreign Influence" and the Department of Justice has announced a new policy its month to inform the public about bots and trolls on social media. The National Security Agency and the US Cyber ​​Command are coordinating to counter Russian influence in cyberspace, said the general responsible for these agencies

but even members of the national security firm Trump have acknowledged the need from a central and unifying effort. that experts say is missing. Senior officials also admitted that the government had not taken the necessary steps to give the Russians a second look at the intervention in US policy. Trump did not do it, any more than Barack Obama, whose response to electoral interference – the expulsion of diplomats and the closure of Russian compounds in December 2016 – has been described as lukewarm by some of his elders. collaborators

. that the Russians have not been dissuaded, a Democratic senator, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, said Thursday that she was the target of an unsuccessful Russian piracy attempt. A representative of Microsoft says the company has also observed Russian hacking attempts against two other unnamed candidates

"I think we need to do more as a government, because we need a government as a whole, because it's not just elections," Kirstjen Nielsen Peter Coats, the director of national intelligence, said in a speech this month that "the system is flashing red" on cyber threats from Russia, but "we In April, a senior official of the Agency National Security declared that the United States had not yet "political courage to say how we will fight back" against the Russian overflows into the country.Ecospace.No additional force has been exposed in the months that followed. NSA Director Paul Nakasone, questioned about these comments last week, said he did not know them.

"We must as a nation bring all the elements of our power against our adversaries," he said. In February, his predecessor, Adm. Mike Rogers told Congress that the Russians "have not paid a price at least enough to cause them to change their behavior," adding later that "we are taking action, but we are probably"

Last week, Republicans in the House rejected a Democrats' proposal to increase state election financing by $ 380 million – the cost of about four F35 fighter planes.

Democrats in Congresses are deeply dismayed.

"In a normal White House, there would be a resource person at the National Security Council, to coordinate all agencies and to work with states and social media to make sure that our electoral systems are not so vulnerable to attack, "Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, who is helping to conduct an investigation into Russia's interference in the Senate Committee's ranking of intelligence on the Senate, told NBC News

record "But the inability of President Trump to acknowledge that the Russians have interfered in 2016 and that they will be back in 2018 really hampers the government's response to this a whole-of-government strategy to deal with this problem, and this leaves us incredibly vulnerable to the continued interference of the Russians or, indeed, any other adversary who might try to steal their handbook. "[19659004AdamSchifftheDemocraticStandingsontheHouse'sIntelligenceCommitteenotedthat"thereisnotasinglepointintheWhiteHouseworkingtomobilizeallthefederalgovernment'sresourcestoprotectagainstafutureattackbyaforeignpowertoworkwithtechnologycompaniestotoughentheirdefensesandinformtheAmericanpeopleofvulnerabilitieswhichissingularlyirresponsiblecweknowforafactthatRussiaattackedin2016andthat"alarmbells"gooffin2018"[19659] A spokesman for the National Security Council, which is responsible for the use of electronic communications in an e-mail: "The NSC's Regulatory Coordination and Continued Government-Wide Approach to Alleviating Influences and Harms and Security of Elections"

When asked who was responsible for the NSC, it did not respond. National Security Council Cybersecurity Coordinator

White House statement issued after Friday meeting lacked details of new security efforts

"The President's discussion with his NSC focused on our threats. Malicious foreign agent elections, ongoing efforts to provide cyber support to state and local authorities, and actions to investigate, prosecute, and hold accountable those who illegally attempt to interfere in our processes political and electoral ". "The Trump administration will continue to provide the necessary support to the owners of electoral systems – state and local governments – to secure their elections."

John McLaughlin, a former director of the CIA and MSNBC contributor, said that "unless the president personally invested and vocally and forcefully mobilized executive power, the government would not approach anything like this with the power that is there. "

Not only did Trump not do that – he repeatedly questioned the very idea that Russia intervened in the election, a conclusion endorsed by each senior member of his national security team. Sunday night, he tweeted that the idea is "a big hoax". His press spokesman said that he meant that to refer to the accusations that his campaign was plotting, but the tweet did not say it.

So President Obama knew Russia before the election. Why did not he do something? Why did not he tell us about our campaign? Because that's a big hoax, that's why, and he thought Crooked Hillary was going to win!

– Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 22, 2018

The Russian attack in 2016

The Russian attack against the 2016 election – for the purpose , finally, to hurt Hillary Clinton and help Donald Trump – came in three waves. Two of them have been described in detail in indictments by Robert Mueller, the special advocate who studies whether the Trump campaign has coordinated with the Russians.

The Three Attack Vectors:

• Russian agents sought to manipulate the American public by spreading propaganda on Twitter, Facebook and other social media. Some 150 million Americans have seen advertisements bought by Russia on Facebook, said this company. The reach of bots and trolls on Twitter is incalculable.
• The Russian military intelligence agency, the GRU, hacked the chairman of the National Democratic and Campaign Committee Hillary Clinton, John Podesta, stole sensitive information and aired it to the public via WikiLeaks. the most recent Mueller indictment. The information was often embarrbading and damaging for Democrats, was widely covered in the media, and played an immeasurable role – but many experts believe, consistent – in influencing voters.
• Russian hackers have also penetrated the electoral systems of seven states. targeted a total of at least 21. There is no evidence that the votes were changed, and this element of the attack may have had the least impact. But the experts said the Russians have shown that they can wreak havoc on electoral systems if they want to, even if only playing with checklists to stir up disturbances and chaos the day of the elections. If we consider that the Russians are trying to adopt mid-term voting systems this autumn, they recognize that there is not much to do for prevent the Russians from doing it. Meanwhile, the manipulation of social media has never stopped, and hacking attempts seem to continue

  

  Coats, the nation's highest intelligence official, has long spoke of his concerns in a speech this month, just a few days before Trump stood near Vladimir Putin seemed to undermine his intelligence agencies on Russian interference.

  "Russia has been the most aggressive foreign actor – no question," said Coats. "And they continue their efforts to undermine our democracy."

  As for the upcoming midterm elections, he says, there is no sign of interference in specific states, because "we fully realize that we are just a click away"

  In addition, adds Coats, "we are witnessing aggressive attempts to manipulate social media and disseminate propaganda focused on urgent issues that are aimed at exacerbating socio-political divisions." In spite of the Kremlin's public statements, we continue to see individuals affiliated with the St. Petersburg Internet Research Agency create new social media accounts, masquerading as Americans, then use these accounts to draw attention to issues of contention. 19659004] He continued "These actions are persistent, they are ubiquitous, and they are intended to undermine the American democracy in everyday life, whether during elections or not. or not. Russian and other actors are also exploring the vulnerabilities of our critical infrastructure.

  

  "The warning signs are there, the system is flashing, and that's why I believe we're at a critical point."

  Trump will have a chance to address these issues on Friday. The NSC meeting comes exactly two years after the day he urged the Russians to hack Hillary Clinton's campaign during the presidential race.

  "Russia, if you're Listening, I hope you can find the 30,000 missing emails," said candidate Trump at a press conference at his golf course in Doral, Florida, July 27, 2016.

  Later in the same day, Russian hackers tried to break Clinton's campaign networks.

  Russia will likely listen to Trump's words on Friday, as many of them have said. Americans