Election security

Committee leaders recommend an integrated response to cyber events and disregard for political affiliations moving forward.

Senior Obama administration officials responding to reports elements tied to the Russian government had made cyber intrusions into the Democratic National Committee sought to delay and restrict the dissemination of the information, even from the White House Cybersecurity Coordinator, according to interviews conducted by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

In a report out today detailing the government’s response to Russia’s campaign to interfere with the 2016 election, the committee found “the decision to limit and delay information sharing about the foreign influence threat inadvertently constrained the Obama Administration’s ability to respond.”

The report is the third in a series of five planned to dissect Russia’s involvement in the 2016 election, including disinformation campaigns conducted via social media, phishing attacks on key party officials, and cyber intrusions into voting systems. It makes a number of recommendations based on lessons learned from those events, and was accompanied by an optimistic view of prospects for November’s contest.