Election security

What Good Is an Indictment for Online Election Meddling?

Russia has always been less cautious than most other countries when it comes to using the internet against its adversaries in new and creative ways. In 2007, Russia was believed to be behind massive denial-of-service attacks directed at Estonia. In 2008, the Russian government coordinated its military strike on Georgia with a series of targeted cyberattacks on Georgian websites and infrastructure. Ten years later, most other nations still haven’t used their cyber capabilities that overtly or aggressively, but, as Mueller’s indictment makes clear, that has not in any way deterred Russia from continuing to wield the internet with impunity.

The actual activities described in the indictment are so trivial as to seem almost laughable. For instance, the Russian nationals named are charged with “posing as U.S. persons and creating false U.S. personas” in order to operate “social media pages and groups” that “addressed divisive U.S. political and social issues” and were “designed to attract U.S. audiences.” Among the hashtags they used: #Trump2016, #TrumpTrain, and #Hillary4Prison. They also, allegedly, encouraged Americans to organize political “flash mobs” in support of Trump, as well as purchasing online ads, ordering posters, and sending out press releases for political rallies. One example in the indictment even indicates that the Russians offered American people money to attend rallies and purchase posters and megaphones.