Lessons learned from 2016, but US faces new election threats

Lessons learned from 2016, but US faces new election threats

SeattlePI.com

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It’s been more than three years since Russia's sweeping and systematic effort to interfere in U.S. elections through disinformation on social media, stolen campaign emails and attacks on voting systems. U.S. officials have made advances in trying to prevent similar attacks from undermining the 2020 vote, but challenges remain. A look at what has changed since 2016 and what has not.

THE THREAT

THEN: U.S. intelligence agencies say Russia was the only nation that significantly interfered in the 2016 election. Russia's activities shouldn't have come as a surprise. Russia is believed to have interfered in Ukraine’s 2014 vote. Russia's 2016 goals, according to an assessment by the U.S. intelligence agencies, were to add to the divisiveness in American society, undermine faith in the democratic process and harm Democrat Hillary Clinton’s White House candidacy and potential presidency.

NOW: The threat has expanded considerably. U.S. intelligence chiefs say potential threats aren’t just from Russia, but also from China, Iran and North Korea. In addition, there have been indications that hostile foreign governments might disguise their attacks to make them appear to be caused by other hackers. Campaigns and state and local election systems remain attractive targets, and social media is still a convenient method for sowing divisions.

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THREAT AWARENESS

THEN: U.S. officials were ill-prepared for Russian intelligence officers to hack Democratic emails and distribute them to WikiLeaks. In addition, the covert Russian social media campaign aimed at spreading disinformation among American voters was unprecedented and largely undetected until after the election. Campaigns underestimated the threat. State and local election officials were unaware that they were on the front...

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