The Plot to Hack America

Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.²

No one is accusing Trump or his associates of treason, sedition, or treachery. That kind of talk should be squelched. Unless true evidence of deliberate collusion between the campaign and the Russia government is found by US counter-intelligence officers an brought forth in charges by the U.S. Justice Department, and that is highly unlikely, then no one should ever accuse an American citizen of these dangerous and litigious words. Fighting words. We should defend his right under the First Amendment to continue saying any and all the stupid things he will most assuredly continue to do. That is his right.

Nor are any of the statements or activities of the Trump campaign, no matter how distasteful, the behaviors or actions of clandestine agents of the Russian regime. However, even a cursory glance at the evidence reveals to intelligence professionals that the probability that Vladimir Putin has handled Trump and his associates, doing their bidding without even knowing it, is well within the KGB playbook. These Americans may be not be real agents of the Russian Federation but they may have unwittingly exposed themselves to a massive intelligence manipulation machine that, once involved, may be completely out of their control to extract themselves. The rhetoric election of 2016 reveals that damage has already been done.

Worst of all is that the rise of an American ideologue that firmly admires and wishes to emulate the murder-based power politics of America’s strategic nuclear opponent with the intent to dismantle the defensive systems and treaties that kept this nation safe for over seventy years, reveals that the intelligence community’s ability to detect real national security threats can be defeated through demagoguery.

America Under Attack

Russia’s capability is so absolutely organized to benefit the regime that it generates billions through authorized cybercrime so long as the Kremlin gets what it wants. Another former NSA member of the elite Tailored Access Operations program warned, “Do not underestimate the food chain that Putin has assembled.” That food chain is topped by the CYBER BEARS; every nation below is intended to be consumed. Alex Cochenour, President of Hoplite Security, agreed with this aspect of Russia’s cyber capacity:

So complete is Russia’s control over its vast and profitable cybercrime and cyber propaganda campaigns that virtually no collateral damage ever lands within the Russians’ own border. This effect is amusingly referred to as the “Russian Cyber Force Field,” everything from making their malware exploit kits geo and language aware to manipulating malicious advertising campaigns, the Russians go to great lengths to keep their hands clean. The attached screenshot from Hoplite’s global sensor network show this effect visually, notice the lack of activity inside Russia’s borders? The activity inside Russia is virtually always from machines owned by Europeans and Americans traveling with already infected machines. If that graphic is at all useful, you have my permission to use it.

What are the nation’s options? A few recommendations have been universally recognized by some of the top cyber security people in the world including: