‘Warning Lights Are Blinking Red,’ Top Intelligence Officer Says of Russian Attacks

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/13/us/politics/dan-coats-intelligence-russia-cyber-warning.html

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WASHINGTON — The nation’s top intelligence officer said on Friday that the persistent danger of Russian cyberattacks today was akin to the warnings the United States had of stepped-up terror threats ahead of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

That note of alarm sounded by Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence, came on the same day that 12 Russian agents were indicted on charges of hacking the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. Mr. Coats said those indictments illustrated Moscow’s continuing strategy to undermine the United States’ democracy and erode its institutions.

“The warning lights are blinking red again,” Mr. Coats said as he cautioned of cyberthreats. “Today, the digital infrastructure that serves this country is literally under attack.”

Coming just days ahead of President Trump’s meeting with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, Mr. Coats’s comments demonstrate the persistent divisions within the administration on Russia — and on how hard a line senior administration officials should take with Moscow on its cyberspace activities.

Mr. Trump has said he would raise the issue of Russian election interference with Mr. Putin during their meeting in Helsinki, Finland. And Mr. Trump regularly cites some strong actions his administration has taken to punish Moscow, such as expelling 60 Russians accused of intelligence activities. But Mr. Trump and the White House also routinely minimize information about the impact of Moscow’s cyberattacks and intrusion efforts on the 2016 election.

The government’s national security agencies, particularly the intelligence agencies, have been far more concerned about Russia’s 2016 interference campaign — and efforts still underway.

Mr. Coats, a former Republican senator from Indiana, has helped position the intelligence agencies in the more hard-line camp, pushing for more aggressive actions to halt cyberattacks by Russia and other nations. In a speech last month in France, he outlined the recent history of Russian cyberattacks on elections and on candidates critical of Moscow.

In his remarks on Friday, Mr. Coats did not directly address Mr. Trump’s coming meeting with Mr. Putin. But Mr. Coats did say that if he was meeting the Russian president, he would deliver a sharp message that the United States knows what the Russians are doing and that Mr. Putin’s government is responsible for the cyberattacks.

Mr. Coats also expressed frustration with cyberspace strategies that emphasize only defense, and not offense as well. Evoking President Ronald Reagan’s Cold War approach to the Soviet Union, Mr. Coats suggested that if Russia continued to try to take on the United States in the cyberarena, then the administration should “throw everything we have got into it.”

Seth G. Jones, a senior adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Reagan pushed the United States to begin offensive information operations against the Soviet Union. Invoking Reagan, Mr. Jones said, was hardly accidental and was symbolically important because he remains revered by Republicans.

The comments by Mr. Coats reflect the view by the intelligence community that Russia’s campaign remains a grave threat.

“Russia continues to be aggressive across the board,” Mr. Jones said. “Much as the Soviets did in the Cold War, the Russian active measures are much bigger than just elections.”

Mr. Coats has previously warned about continuing Russian attempts to influence future elections, including the midterm elections in the fall.

At a Senate hearing this year, Mr. Coats said that Russia viewed the midterm elections as a potential target, and he said Moscow’s activities were designed “to exacerbate social and political fissures in the United States.”

Mr. Coats said on Friday that the intelligence community was working with the F.B.I. and the Department of Homeland Security to support states’ efforts to secure their elections.

The federal effort has been hampered by the fact that elections are controlled at the state and local levels. States have had different levels of cooperation with the federal authorities.

While Mr. Coats did not directly address that issue, he mentioned that a problem in one state could throw the midterms or the next presidential election into doubt.

Friday’s comments by Mr. Coats at the Hudson Institute, a Washington think tank, appeared aimed at increasing the intensity of his warnings over Russia.

Mr. Coats said Russian and other actors were exploring vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure and trying to infiltrate energy, water, nuclear and manufacturing sectors.

“These actions are persistent, they are pervasive and they are meant to undermine America’s democracy,” Mr. Coats said.

He did not outline any details of what exactly the United States or its intelligence agencies will do to curtail the intrusions. But he did say intelligence and other government agencies will speak more publicly about the threat of cyberattacks and cyberinterference to increase public knowledge.

Mr. Coats said cyberattacks from Russia, China, North Korea and Iran were mounting on American business and government agencies every day.

China has the most adept hackers working for a government, Mr. Coats said. But Beijing’s agenda was more focused on stealing information and technical advances, while Moscow remained more interested in dividing the United States from its allies and undermining democracy, he said.

Both the Russian and Chinese governments have repeatedly insisted they are the victims, not the perpetrators, of cyberattacks.