neumann@csl.sri.com
Date: Sun, 16 Jul 2017 18:12:37 PDT
Tom Donilon, National Security Advisor 2010-2013, advocates for paper ballots in his opinion piece https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/russia-will-be-back-heres-how-to-hack-proof-the-next-election/2017/07/14/f085e870-67d5-11e7-a1d7-9a32c91c6f40_story.html?utm_term=.1be864cac68d
Tom Donilon, *The Washington Post*, 14 Jul 2017
Russia will be back. Here's how to hack-proof the next election.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Trump meet at the G-20
summit in Hamburg on July 7. (Evan Vucci/Associated Press) [PGN-ed]
Tom Donilon was national security adviser to President Barack Obama from
2010 to 2013. In 2016, he chaired the President's Commission on Enhancing
National Cybersecurity.
We now know that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a comprehensive effort to interfere with the 2016 presidential election. This mission involved the cybertheft and strategic publication of politically sensitive emails, the placement and amplification of misinformation on social media, overt propaganda and efforts to penetrate the systems of dozens of state election authorities.
This is not speculation or political posturing; it is the public and high-confidence conclusion of the U.S. intelligence community. And it is wholly consistent with past Soviet and Russian use of active measures -- intelligence operations meant to shape an adversary's political decisions -- with the strategic goal of undermining the integrity of and confidence in the West. Modern technology has only increased the speed, scale and efficacy of such actions. This would be alarming even as a one-time occurrence, but as former FBI director James B. Comey recently warned, They will be back.
The fact is that, so far, Putin has paid too small a price to meaningfully deter him in the future.
Here are five concrete steps the United States should take to meet this ongoing threat to our democracy:
First, President Trump must unequivocally acknowledge Russia's attack on the
2016 election and clearly state that any future attack on our democratic
institutions will not be tolerated. [...]
Second, the Department of Homeland Security and the Election
Assistance Commission (EAC) should lead a process to develop election
baseline cybersecurity guidelines and help states implement these best
practices. [...]
Third, we must develop a better system for sharing information between state and federal officials. While the U.S. election system is decentralized, the threats against it are not confined to state borders. [...]
Fourth, we must engage in a national policy discussion about the roles and responsibilities of our social media platforms and the steps they should take to protect our democracy from malign interference. [...]
Fifth, the United States should work within international forums to establish the principle that an attack on election systems violates the principles of noninterference and sovereignty and would justify a robust response. [...]
These are steps we can take to help secure the future of our democratic institutions in the cyber-age. We are on notice. We must act now.