We have the propaganda myth of "Russia-gate"---a groundless drive joined avidly by some in the Election Integrity movement---to thank for this.
> > https://www.mintpressnews.com/michael-chertoff-touts-election-security-federal-id-system-looms/271100/?fbclid=IwAR2_aKOvq_LiH510qBi0TONti-3OVF7K3Es1vTQ-cQfpfbquOMdAUfcKxeE > Patriot Act Coauthor Michael Chertoff Touts More Election Security as > Federal ID System Looms > <https://www.mintpressnews.com/michael-chertoff-touts-election-security-federal-id-system-looms/271100/> > > Calls to overhaul the legacy bureaucratic systems of the U.S. with > cutting-edge AI-driven mass tracking and surveillance technologies are > intensifying at the top echelons of the National Security state with all > eyes on the 2020 election. > *by ** Raul Diego <https://www.mintpressnews.com/author/raul-diego/>* > > September 11th, 2020 > > Keeping in line with the trend of governance consolidation taking place > among current and former members of the American political establishment, > such as the recent lovefest between ex-president George W. Bush and liberal > elites, Michael Chertoff, once Bush’s DHS Secretary and coauthor of the > Patriot Act along with two of his DHS peers sat down at an event > <https://thehill.com/policy/technology/515764-former-homeland-security-secretaries-call-on-officials-to-step-up> > hosted > by the Atlantic Council on Wednesday to call for a “stepped-up response to > election threats.” > > Janet Napolitano and Jeh Johnson, both former DHS secretaries under Obama, > joined Chertoff in endorsing the findings and recommendations of a report > <https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Future-of-DHS-Report-2020-final.pdf> > published > by the host’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, titled “Future > DHS Project.” The study was sponsored by the Science Applications > International Corporation (SAIC <https://www.saic.com/>), a military > intelligence contractor with close ties to Michael Chertoff’s D.C.-based > security advisory firm, the Chertoff Group, and Century Link > <https://www.centurylink.com/aboutus.html>; a defense telecommunications > contractor, which was just awarded a disputed > <https://washingtontechnology.com/articles/2020/01/16/eis-interior-centurylink-rockwell.aspx> > $1.6 > Billion contract to manage core network and access services for the DoD. > > The trio of former DHS heads warned that “Russia, China and Iran are > actively interfering in the 2020 U.S. elections,” as outlined in an > assessment issued by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence > (ODNI) in August, which reportedly contains “detailed evidence” of the > alleged interference. Janet Napolitano, who last June > <https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-06-11/uc-president-janet-napolitano-steps-down-mended-legacy-after-scandal> > stepped > down as President of the University of California where she was directly > implicated > <https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/04/25/california-auditor-slams-uc-presidents-office-over-175-million-in-hidden-funds/> > in > the creation of a $175 million secret slush fund, said that the > intelligence on Russian interference was “quite clear” and urged Trump to > ramp up international sanctions and “deterrence.” > > Chertoff, for his part, dismissed the president’s ability to do anything > about the purported Russian interference because of “credibility issues” > and instead called for state and municipal authorities across the country > to implement voting security measures themselves, such as new “options for > voters to cast ballots.” > > > A Federal ID to save us all > > At a Virtual Collaboration Event > <https://events.afcea.org/FedID20/Public/enter.aspx> that was taking > place simultaneously and organized by the FedID, “the U.S. Government’s > annual identity conference since 1995,” Gay Gilbert > <https://oui.doleta.gov/unemploy/aboutoui.asp> of the Department of > Labor’s Office of Unemployment Insurance (OUI) delivered her remarks about > the “perfect storm” for a federal ID system. > > Gilbert, a 10-year veteran of the OUI, is in charge of processing > unemployment insurance claims, which skyrocketed > <https://www.afcea.org/content/pandemic-accents-federal-need-identification-tech> > as > a result of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act > from an average 200,000 claims per week to over six million a week, > referred to the bill as an “amazing magnet for fraudsters.” According > <https://www.afcea.org/content/pandemic-accents-federal-need-identification-tech> > to > Gilbert, “billions of dollars [are] walking out the door under these > programs due to identity theft,” adding that other agencies are going > through the same thing. > > The severe strain imposed by pandemic-response legislation and a stalled > economy on U.S. bureaucratic institutions is opening the door for private > sector companies like SAIC and Century Link, to undertake the massive > overhaul of its ‘legacy’ systems to integrate emerging cloud-based, > AI-powered governance and security structures. > > Michael Mosier, deputy director and digital innovation officer at the > Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FCEN) of the U.S. Treasury > Department, stated that due to the “billions of compromised credentials” > swimming through cyberspace, there is “a very high likelihood that a lot of > users in the U.S. financial system have had some sort of information about > themselves compromised at some point.” > > The solution to these problems, they assert, is a new federal identity > management system underpinned by a federal digital ID, which Benji > Hutchinson, vice president of NEC Corp., believes is a trend that began in > the aftermath of 9-11, that is now reaching critical velocity as a result > of “pandemic things.” > > > The cost of chaos > > A federal ID system comes hand in hand with a federal police force, which > is now in the offing > <https://www.mintpressnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/usp-may-2015-board-book.pdf> > as > calls to “defund the police” are dovetailing perfectly with efforts to > implement an AI-driven mass surveillance apparatus by people like former > Google and Alphabet CEO Eric Schmidt, who heads the National Security > Commission on Artificial Intelligence NSCIA and who also, along with other > Silicon Valley billionaires, funds organizations like the “bipartisan” New > America <https://www.newamerica.org/our-funding/>, which looks to > confront “the challenges caused by rapid technological and social change > and seizing the opportunities those changes create.” > > Among those opportunities, apparently, is the 2020 U.S. presidential > election, which another “bipartisan” organization, “convened” by New > America senior fellow Rosa Brooks, called the Transition Integrity Project > <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transition_Integrity_Project> (TIP), has > been “war-gaming” the election since its inception. As Whitney Webb > reports > <https://unlimitedhangout.com/2020/09/investigative-reports/bipartisan-washington-insiders-reveal-their-plan-for-chaos-if-trump-wins-the-election/>, > TIP produced several “scenarios” in their table-top exercises about what > would take place should there be a contested election or a Trump victory. > In all outcomes, chaos ensues and a number of unconstitutional measures are > taken by the “Never Trumper” networks in both parties to guarantee a Biden > presidency. > > The “perfect storm” Gilbert talked about could very well spill over into > the streets of America as election-day nears and the pandemic-induced coma, > that afflicts the American economy will, no doubt, leave the most > vulnerable among us in a precarious situation with only the power to accept > what is offered by the ever-encroaching tentacles of the burgeoning > technocratic state composed of members of the ‘uniparty’. > > > Betting on all horses > > Pandemic things also figured in Chad Wolff’s “State of the Homeland” > address at DHS headquarters on this same, eventful day. The acting head of > DHS praised Donald Trump’s “decisive and rapid action” over the nation’s > COVID-19 response, which “led to our federal government to pursue a > whole-of-America response.” > > Political rhetoric aside, Wolf echoed the same “concerns” presented by his > predecessors at the Atlantic Council’s event in regards to the challenges > presented by “new aggressive tactics” targeting the United States “through > cyber and economic means.” Wolff bolstered the role of the Cybersecurity > and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) in “guarding against nation-state > actors’ cyber-enabled espionage and malicious influence activity aimed at > all levels of government and industry” and its funding of the Election > Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EI-ISAC); a cyber > threat monitoring initiative operated by the Center for Internet Security, > which “deploys and monitors intrusion detection systems on election > infrastructure across all 50 states,” according to Wolff. > > Among other resources <https://www.cisecurity.org/elections/>, EI-ISAC > offers Google and Alphabet’s “suite of free tools” called Protect Your > Election <https://protectyourelection.withgoogle.com/intl/en/> for > “candidates, campaigns, publishers, journalists, NGOs, and election > monitoring sites to help protect against digital attacks and provide > reliable election information.” > > > Former Google and Alphabet CEO, Eric Schmidt now chairs the U.S. > Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Advisory Board, in addition to > his chairmanship <https://www.nscai.gov/about/commissioners/schmidt> of > the NSCAI, is leading the charge to implement an AI-driven mass > surveillance system, motivated by a desire to maintain U.S. technological > hegemony in the 21st century. Like Gilbert and NEC’s Hutchinson, Schmidt > has found that the coronavirus crisis has removed many of the “obstacles” > preventing its implementation. > > Indeed, Schmidt is well-positioned to take advantage. The Trump > administration has suffered from a “failure of direction, a failure of > leadership at pretty much every level of our government,” Schmidt declared > last week on a podcast <https://www.reimaginepod.org/episodes>. A data > analytics company he backed > <https://freebeacon.com/politics/googles-eric-schmidt-helps-raise-22-million-dem-data-firm/> > and > where he is also a board member, was hired by the Biden campaign > <https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/29/biden-taps-data-analytics-company-backed-by-eric-schmidt-for-digital-resources.html> > back > in April 2019. Civis Analytics is comprised of a “group of engineers and > statisticians,” led by Obama’s 2012 campaign analytics chief, Dan Wagner, > who were “credited with producing Obama’s surprising 5 million-vote margin > of victory,” according > <https://freebeacon.com/issues/dems-pay-millions-to-firm-backed-by-googles-eric-schmidt/> > to > *Bloomberg*. > > Feature photo | Michael Chertoff, former secretary of the Department of > Homeland Security, is recognized during a ribbon cutting ceremony for the > Department of Homeland Security’s St. Elizabeths Campus Center Building in > Washington, June 21, 2019. Susan Walsh | AP > > *Raul Diego is a MintPress News Staff Writer, independent photojournalist, > researcher, writer and documentary filmmaker.* > *Republish our stories! * MintPress News is licensed under a Creative > Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 International License. > > - 2020 presidential election > <https://www.mintpressnews.com/tag/2020-presidential-election/> > - election security > <https://www.mintpressnews.com/tag/election-security/> > - Federal ID <https://www.mintpressnews.com/tag/federal-id/> > - Michael Chertoff > <https://www.mintpressnews.com/tag/michael-chertoff/> > - Surveillance <https://www.mintpressnews.com/tag/surveillance/> > > --- Support News from Underground: http://bit.ly/NFUSupport You received this email because you are subscribed to News from Underground. To unsubscribe from this email list, please go to: http://www.simplelists.com/confirm.php?u=pIdjNUgiG2h8yxbhC54SSy4SEskAoEMs For archives, please go to: http://archives.simplelists.com/nfu
