*Please send this far and wide, in hopes that those deranged by their fixation on the* *Orange Monster will finally see that they're being played like tom-toms by the US* *war machine.*
*MCM* How the Department of Homeland Security Created a Deceptive Tale of Russia Hacking US Voter Sites August 28, 2018 https://consortiumnews.com/2018/08/28/how-the-department-of-homeland-security-created-a-deceptive-tale-of-russia-hacking-u-s-voter-sites/ <http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://consortiumnews.com/2018/08/28/how-the-department-of-homeland-security-created-a-deceptive-tale-of-russia-hacking-u-s-voter-sites/> <http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=How%20the%20Department%20of%20Homeland%20Security%20Created%20a%20Deceptive%20Tale%20of%20Russia%20Hacking%20US%20Voter%20Sites&url=https://consortiumnews.com/2018/08/28/how-the-department-of-homeland-security-created-a-deceptive-tale-of-russia-hacking-u-s-voter-sites/> <https://plus.google.com/share?url=https://consortiumnews.com/2018/08/28/how-the-department-of-homeland-security-created-a-deceptive-tale-of-russia-hacking-u-s-voter-sites/> <http://www.digg.com/submit?url=https://consortiumnews.com/2018/08/28/how-the-department-of-homeland-security-created-a-deceptive-tale-of-russia-hacking-u-s-voter-sites/> <http://reddit.com/submit?url=https://consortiumnews.com/2018/08/28/how-the-department-of-homeland-security-created-a-deceptive-tale-of-russia-hacking-u-s-voter-sites/&title=How%20the%20Department%20of%20Homeland%20Security%20Created%20a%20Deceptive%20Tale%20of%20Russia%20Hacking%20US%20Voter%20Sites> <http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://consortiumnews.com/2018/08/28/how-the-department-of-homeland-security-created-a-deceptive-tale-of-russia-hacking-u-s-voter-sites/> <http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=https://consortiumnews.com/2018/08/28/how-the-department-of-homeland-security-created-a-deceptive-tale-of-russia-hacking-u-s-voter-sites/&title=How%20the%20Department%20of%20Homeland%20Security%20Created%20a%20Deceptive%20Tale%20of%20Russia%20Hacking%20US%20Voter%20Sites> <http://www.tumblr.com/share/link?url=https%3A%2F%2Fconsortiumnews.com%2F2018%2F08%2F28%2Fhow-the-department-of-homeland-security-created-a-deceptive-tale-of-russia-hacking-u-s-voter-sites%2F&name=How+the+Department+of+Homeland+Security+Created+a+Deceptive+Tale+of+Russia+Hacking+US+Voter+Sites> Save <?Subject=How%20the%20Department%20of%20Homeland%20Security%20Created%20a%20Deceptive%20Tale%20of%20Russia%20Hacking%20US%20Voter%20Sites&Body=Here%20is%20the%20link%20to%20the%20article:%20https://consortiumnews.com/2018/08/28/how-the-department-of-homeland-security-created-a-deceptive-tale-of-russia-hacking-u-s-voter-sites/> The narrative about Russian cyberattacks on American election infrastructure is a self-interested abuse of power by DHS based on distortion of evidence, writes Gareth Porter. *By Gareth Porter**Special to Consortium News* The narrative of Russian intelligence attacking state and local election boards and threatening the integrity of U.S. elections has achieved near-universal acceptance by media and political elites. And now it has been accepted by the Trump administration’s intelligence chief, Dan Coats <https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-intelligence-officials-warn-of-pervasive-russian-efforts-to-disrupt-2018-elections-1533235652> , as well. But the real story behind that narrative, recounted here for the first time, reveals that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) created and nurtured an account that was grossly and deliberately deceptive. DHS compiled an intelligence report suggesting hackers linked to the Russian government *could* have targeted voter-related websites in many states and then leaked a sensational story of Russian attacks on those sites without the qualifications that would have revealed a different story. When state election officials began asking questions, they discovered that the DHS claims were false and, in at least one case, laughable. The National Security Agency and special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigating team have also claimed evidence that Russian military intelligence was behind election infrastructure hacking, but on closer examination, those claims turn out to be speculative and misleading as well. Mueller’s indictment of 12 GRU military intelligence officers does not cite any violations of U.S. election laws though it claims Russia interfered with the 2016 election. *A Sensational Story * On Sept. 29, 2016, a few weeks after the hacking of election-related websites in Illinois and Arizona, ABC News carried a sensational headline: “Russian Hackers Targeted Nearly Half of States’ Voter Registration Systems, Successfully Infiltrated 4.” The story <https://abcnews.go.com/US/russian-hackers-targeted-half-states-voter-registration-systems/story?id=42435822> itself reported that “more than 20 state election systems” had been hacked, and four states had been “breached” by hackers suspected of working for the Russian government. The story cited only sources “knowledgeable” about the matter, indicating that those who were pushing the story were eager to hide the institutional origins of the information. (Erik Hersman/CC BY 2.0) Behind that sensational story was a federal agency seeking to establish its leadership within the national security state apparatus on cybersecurity, despite its limited resources for such responsibility. In late summer and fall 2016, the Department of Homeland Security was maneuvering politically to designate state and local voter registration databases and voting systems as “critical infrastructure.” Such a designation would make voter-related networks and websites under the protection a “priority sub-sector” in the DHS “National Infrastructure Protection Plan, which already included 16 such sub-sectors. DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson and other senior DHS officials consulted with many state election officials <https://www.dhs.gov/news/2017/01/06/statement-secretary-johnson-designation-election-infrastructure-critical> in the hope of getting their approval for such a designation. Meanwhile, the DHS was finishing an intelligence report that would both highlight the Russian threat to U.S. election infrastructure and the role DHS could play in protecting it, thus creating political impetus to the designation. But several secretaries of state—the officials in charge of the election infrastructure in their state—strongly opposed the designation that Johnson wanted. On Jan. 6, 2017—the same day three intelligence agencies released a joint “assessment” on Russian interference in the election—Johnson announced the designation anyway. Media stories continued to reflect the official assumption that cyber attacks on state election websites were Russian-sponsored. Stunningly, *The Wall Street Journal* reported <https://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/08/homeland-security-tied-to-attempted-hack-of-georgias-election-database-report.html> in December 2016 that DHS was itself behind hacking attempts of Georgia’s election database. The facts surrounding the two actual breaches of state websites in Illinois and Arizona, as well as the broader context of cyberattacks on state websites, didn’t support that premise at all. *snip>* -- You received this message because you are subscribed to Mark Crispin Miller's "News From Underground" newsgroup. If you'd like to donate to News From Underground, please visit http://markcrispinmiller.com/donate - we appreciate your ongoing support. Ways to unsubscribe, 1) send a blank email to [email protected]. PLEASE NOTE: you must unsubscribe using the SAME email with which you subscribed; 2) go to http://groups.google.com/group/newsfromunderground and click on the "Unsubscribe or change membership" link in the yellow bar at the top of the page, then click the "Unsubscribe" button on the next page. For more News From Underground, visit http://markcrispinmiller.com
