The Plot to Hack America

The Russian ability to launch an attack with a “weapon of Mass Disruption” has yet to occur, but could come at a time of Russia’s choosing. Should the Kremlin game out that the time is right to politically and economically destabilize America and finally topple it from being the shining city on the capitalist hill to collapsing under its own ignorance and faith in a parlor tricking, reality show con man, then a massive hack on election day is well within its capability. The Lucky-7 Information Warfare Management Cell doesn’t need to get into the electronic voting machines. The Russian IWMC and its Lucky-7 operations team just needs to change just one column of electoral tallies in one state just long enough to make the tens of millions of Trump voters finally believe that the election was being stolen by Hillary Clinton. No matter what the evidence, no matter who will ask for calm, they won’t believe anything other than treachery because Donald Trump has convinced a third of the American electorate that the entire American electoral system has always been corrupt. The greatest danger now is that any outcome other than the election of Donald Trump will not be accepted and demands for a new election and rejection of the result will cripple the nation in ways not seen since 1860 secession. It could lead some states to suggest just that should the outcome be not to their liking. At that point the prospect of a second American civil war is not only viable, but likely.

The Russian use of cyber weapons to perform criminal acts and damage our electoral process was intended to remove faith in America itself. Along with Donald Trump’s claims that the election will be rigged, they have achieved this goal. Due to their meddling, activities which were considered routine politics in America are now suspect. Politics itself is under fire, due to the combination of hacking and demagoguery.

Though we have yet to see an actual disruption that matters in the lives of the average American citizen, one can be sure that it will come at a time where, once recognized, the only alternative to the attack may be a real war.

Endnotes

Chapter 1

1. Biddle, Sam. “Contrary to DNC Claim, Hacked Data Contains a Ton of Personal Donor Information.” Gawker. Gawker Media, 17 June 2016. Web. 29 Aug. 2016. www.gawker.com/contrary-to-dnc-claim-hacked-data-contains-a-ton-of-pe-1782132678

2. Nakashima, Ellen. “Russian Government Hackers Penetrated DNC, Stole Opposition Research on Trump.” Washington Post. The Washington Post Company, 14 June 2016. Web. 29 Aug. 2016. www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/russian-government-hackers-penetrated-dnc-stole-opposition-research-on-trump/2016/06/14/cf006cb4-316e-11e6-8ff7-7b6c1998b7a0_story.html

3. Parker, Ashley, and Steve Eder. “Inside the Six Weeks Donald Trump Was a Nonstop ‘Birther’.” The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 02 July 2016. Web. 29 Aug. 2016. www.nytimes.com/2016/07/03/us/politics/donald-trump-birther-obama.html

4. C-SPAN. “C-SPAN: President Obama at the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Dinner.” YouTube. C-SPAN, 30 Apr. 2011. Web. 29 Aug. 2016. www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9mzJhvC-8E

5. Roberts, Roxanne. “I Sat next to Donald Trump at the Infamous 2011 White House Correspondents’ Dinner.” Washington Post. The Washington Post Company, 28 Apr. 28. Web. 29 Aug. 2016. www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/i-sat-next-to-donald-trump-at-the-infamous-2011-white-house-correspondents-dinner/2016/04/27/5cf46b74-0bea-11e6-8ab8-9ad050f76d7d_story.html

6. Ibid.

7. “Night of Comedy.” Fox News. FOX News Network, 1 May 2011. Web. 29 Aug. 2016. video.foxnews.com/v/4671338/night-of-comedy/?#sp=show-clips

8. Barbaro, Michael. “After Roasting, Trump Reacts In Character.” The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 01 May 2011. Web. 29 Aug. 2016. www.nytimes.com/2011/05/02/nyregion/after-roasting-trump-reacts-in-character.html