Save the fake outrage: Obama has known about Russian hacking for years
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opin...ut-russian-hacking-for-years/article33456352/
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Aurel Braun is a professor of International Relations and Political Science at the University of Toronto, and an associate of the Davis Center at Harvard University.
Like Captain Renault in
Casablanca, feigning shock that there was gambling at Rick’s club and ordering it closed, President Barack Obama has expressed his outrage at Russian hacking and has now ordered a variety of retaliatory measures. Yet
Washington has been long aware of Russian cyberwarfare and the need to counter it. So why now, and to what effect?
To be sure, Russia has employed cyberwarfare and information warfare extensively, not only against the United States but many other countries. Much of this is well-known. Part of Russian hybrid warfare, cyberwar in the past several years has become an increasingly crucial tool of foreign policy in the eyes of Russian leaders. Additionally, cyberwar and information warfare are key parts of the 2013 Gerasimov Doctrine (named after General Valery Gerasimov) that holds that “non-linear war” is the way of the future and that covert tactics are essential since there is no longer a clear line between peace and war.
The open secret is that Russia has made extensive efforts to recruit all possible talent, including some with a shady past, to help its cyber efforts. The Ministry of Defence even advertised for coders on VKontakte, the most popular Russian social network.
Further, for years now, the Kremlin has sought to influence elections throughout Europe, so there should have been little surprise they did this in the United States.
In fact, the FBI had informed the Democratic National Committee of hacking back in the fall of 2015 and Mr. Obama certainly was apprised about Russian efforts in April, 2016, when Hillary Clinton’s path to victory seemed assured. The Russian hacking consortium, named Fancy Bear, which also targeted the DNC, was known in the U.S., and the group proudly and publicly adopted its moniker.
So why did Mr. Obama wait so long to act? While his administration knew that Moscow was trying to influence the election, it is also the case that Russian cyber and informational warfare would be part of hundreds of variables (including the President’s all-out public support for Ms. Clinton) that determine a presidential election.
It would have been another matter if the U.S. had discovered that Russian hackers had taken hold of electronic voting machines and had altered election results.
Mr. Obama has made no suggestion whatsoever that such invalidation of the election had occurred.
Consequently, Washington’s concerns would not be different from those expressed by Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, some months ago regarding Russian interference in Germany, and would
hardly explain Mr. Obama’s actions so very late in his presidency.
Conceivably, Mr. Obama may be driven by a desperate quest for legacy, seeks payback or is trying to box his successor into an anti-Russian foreign policy. Yet his decision to declare 35 intelligence operatives working under diplomatic cover persona non grata, and sanctioning officials from the military intelligence service GRU and the security agency FSB, as well as some civilian organizations and individuals,
is heavy in symbolism but seems light on substance, particularly if America’s allies do not follow suit.
Though Mr. Obama is threatening additional measures, his officials have little expectation that Russia will change policy. And as
Ms. Merkel noted in November, “Such cyber attacks, or hybrid conflicts as they are known in Russian doctrine, are now part of daily life and we must learn to cope with them.”
To be effective, the U.S. would need to mobilize its enormous resources and do three things: greatly boost cyber defences; sharply enhance its cyber retaliatory capacity for better deterrence; and formulate clear foreign-policy markers and signals rather than draw imaginary “red lines” to ensure that Russia realizes that punitive measures from Washington would far outweigh any cyber and information-warfare benefits.
Mr. Obama’s feckless foreign policy, which included the Faustian bargain with Russia on Syria’s chemical weapons and his limited cyberwarfare counter, however, seem far short of the three above goals. His actions therefore may complicate rather than resolve, and like much of his foreign policy appear long on rhetoric and short on substance.
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美国就黑客攻击指称驱逐35名俄国外交官
http://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/world-38464457
美国总统奥巴马在本月早些时候表示,美国将会采取行动
美国总统奥巴马星期四(12月29日)授权驱逐35名俄罗斯外交官,以此作为对美国政府所称的俄罗斯干预2016年美国总统选举所采取的报复措施。
美国政府同时决定关闭在马里兰和纽约的两个据称用于情报收集工作的俄罗斯的办公地点。
奥巴马此前指责俄罗斯通过网络黑客行动直接干扰了美国总统选举,并且表示将就此对俄罗斯采取行动。
但是,俄罗斯断然否认这样的指称。
美国国务院星期四宣布了35名俄罗斯外交官的名单,其中包括在华盛顿的俄罗斯驻美国大使馆和在旧金山领事馆的外交人员,美国政府限令他们在72小时内离境。
俄罗斯总统普京的发言人佩斯科夫表示,俄罗斯将做出相应决定,包括驱逐35名美国外交官。
美国的一些国会议员此前曾呼吁美国政府对俄罗斯的黑客行为采取报复措施,并且形容俄罗斯的行动是一起“政治珍珠港事件”。
美国当选总统特朗普则声称有关俄罗斯通过黑客行动干扰美国大选的指称是“可笑的”,他还在被问到美国采取制裁措施可能性的时候回答说,美国应该“做好自己的事情”。
俄罗斯总统普京的发言人佩斯科夫在莫斯科举行的一次记者会上说,美国现政府将在三个星期后下台,俄罗斯对美国政府这些措施的有效性表示怀疑。
遭驱逐的人员中包括俄罗斯驻华盛顿大使馆的外交官