Tech Focus: Is Russia Really Behind Cyber Attacks and Seeking to Meddle in the U.S. Election ?

Is Russia’s Vladimir Putin Really Meddling in the U.S. Election?

Did Russia really hack the Democratic National Committee?  Is Russia meddling in the U.S. election? The short answer: that’s the official story, but most likely not really.  

As Wikileaks releases their trove of embarrassing emails from the DNC, the U.S. officially accused Russia of being behind the “hacks” on October 8th.  The Office of National Intelligence at the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement: “We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia’s senior-most officials could have authorized these activities.”

These are bold words.  The United States is basically accusing Russia of declaring cyberwar against the United States.  Joe Biden also made a serious threat on NBC’s Meet the Press regarding the Russian cyber attacks, saying: “We’re sending a message. We have the capacity to do it.  He’ll [Vladimir Putin] know it.  And it will be at the time of our choosing.  And under the circumstances that have greatest impact.”

All of this based on the United States’ strong belief that Russia is behind the DNC hacks and hacks of several state boards of election, without strong, smoking gun proof.

What is telling is that this is not the first time Wikileaks released politically embarrassing documents. Julian Assange was considered a heroic whistleblower when he first founded Wikileaks in 2008.  The same people who were singing his praises for exposing the Bush administration are now calling him an enemy of the state and openly suggesting assassination via drone attack.

What is also telling about the controversy is that while the U.S. is publicly blaming Russia for the DNC hacks. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is actively attempting to bribe and/or threaten the nation of Ecuador into extraditing Julian Assange to the United States.

Why blame Russia?  Well, simple.  The idea that Russia is clandestinely attempting to sabotage the U.S. presidential election in order to hand Donald Trump the White House is much more insidious than a known whistleblower (Julian Assange) doing what he has been doing for almost a decade: bringing government activities across the globe into the sunlight.

[Breaking News: WikiLeaks Supporters Claim They Broke The Internet]

All this cyberattack talk seems to have come to a head after a major internet outage event on October 21.  These attacks may be a sign of things to come.  In essence, someone is casing the joint, i.e., probing America’s cyber infrastructure for weak points.  

The next few weeks will be very interesting in many different ways.

Rob Giuffre is a Network+ and A+ certified computer/network technician and sole owner of RatCat Computers. Call 347-538-6231 for a free quote and to schedule a service appointment for any computer or network issue.  We appreciate, respect and value all of our clients.

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