NEED TO DEFEND THEMSELVES FROM THOSE SORTS OF ATTACKS WAS -- IT
WAS TOO MUCH FOR US TO TAKE.
>> JOINING ME NOW, SEAN HENRY,
FORMER ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AND
MSNBC CYBER SECURITY AND
NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST.
I WANT TO GET TO IT HERE.
I’M CURIOUS ABOUT THE SERIOUS
NATURE OF THIS HACKING THREAT TO
U.S. ELECTION SYSTEMS.
WHERE ARE THESE SYSTEMS
VULNERABLE?
VULNERABLE? >> WELL, ALEX, THESE SYSTEMS ARE
SOMEWHAT DISPARATE.
SOMEWHAT DISPARATE. YOU’VE GOT STATE, LOCAL AND
FEDERAL ELECTION PROCESSES.
AND YOU’VE GOT TO THINK ABOUT
LEADING UP TO THE ACTUAL
ELECTION, ALL THE MANY MONTHS
AND EVEN YEARS OF WORK THAT’S
BEING DONE BY CAMPAIGNS.
THEN YOU’VE GOT THE ACTUAL PACs
INVOLVED, THE DAY-TO-DAY VOTING
ON ELECTION DAY.
AND THEN POST THE ELECTION,
YOU’VE GOT ALL THE PROCESSING
AND THE TALLYING OF THE VOTES.
SO THIS IS A WIDELY DISPARATE
PROCESS.
PROCESS. THAT BEING SAID, THE DEPARTMENT
OF HOMELAND SECURITY HAS
RECENTLY DESIGNATED OUR ELECTION
PROCESS AS CRITICAL
INFRASTRUCTURE.
INFRASTRUCTURE. CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE BEING
THOSE SYSTEMS AND NETWORKS THAT
ARE SO VITAL TO THE AMERICAN WAY
OF LIFE, IF THEY WERE SOMEHOW
ATTACKED OR DISRUPTED, THEY
WOULD HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT
ON NATIONAL SECURITY.
SO THE THREAT IS REAL.
AND IT GOES BEYOND NATION
STATES.
STATES. THERE ARE A LOT OF
ORGANIZATIONS, ENTITIES,
ORGANIZATIONS, ENTITIES, ADVERSARIES, LOOKING TO DISRUPT
OUR WAY OF LIFE, ALEX.
>> SO, SEAN, A MICROSOFT
EXECUTIVE WAS TELLING THE ASPEN
SECURITY FORUM THAT HIS COMPANY
DEALT WITH A TAX ON THREE 2018
ELECTION CAMPAIGNS.
ELECTION CAMPAIGNS. IS THIS PROBLEM TOO INTIMIDATING
FOR THE SMALLER CAMPAIGNS, AND
SHOULD THE GOVERNMENT GET MORE
INVOLVED IN TRYING TO PROTECT
THE CANDIDATES?
THE CANDIDATES? >> I’VE GOT TO TELL YOU, THOUGH
WE’VE HEARD JUST IN 2016 ABOUT
ELECTION ISSUES, THIS GOES BACK
MANY YEARS, BACK IN 2008 WHEN I
WAS IN THE FBI AND THE CYBER
DIVISION, THERE WAS AN ATTACK BY
CHINA AGAINST BOTH THE OBAMA AND
THE McCAIN CAMPAIGN.
SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT’S BEEN
GOING ON FOR OVER A DECADE.
I THINK THAT WHEN WE THINK ABOUT
THE CAPABILITIES OF ADVERSARIES,
WHAT THEIR TOOLS AND TACTICS
ARE, WHAT THEIR SPECIFIC
MOTIVATIONS ARE, THAT IT
ABSOLUTELY GOES ABOVE AND BEYOND
THE CAPABILITIES AND THE
EXPERTISE OF SOME OF THESE
SMALLER ENTITIES.
SMALLER ENTITIES. WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT COUNTIES
AND LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS.
AND THAT THE ABILITY OF THE
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT WITH
ITS MANY RESOURCES AND ITS
EXPERTISE, THEY CAN ADD A LOT OF
VALUE TO HELP PROTECT THAT
CRITICAL ELECTION PROCESS.
>> SO DEPUTY AG, ROD ROSENSTEIN,
HAS ANNOUNCED A DOJ PLAN TO
BATTLE ELECTION HACKING.
THERE ARE SIX MAJOR THREATS, IN
HIS MIND.
HIS MIND. AND I’M GOING TO GO THROUGH THEM
HERE.
HERE. DIRECT DAMAGE TO COMPUTER
SYSTEMS.
SYSTEMS. DATA THEFT.
DATA THEFT. FRAUD SCHEMES.
FRAUD SCHEMES. EXTORTION.
EXTORTION. BLACKMAIL.
BLACKMAIL. ATTACKS ON CRITICAL
INFRASTRUCTURE.
INFRASTRUCTURE. AND MALIGNED FOREIGN INFLUENCE
OPERATIONS.
OPERATIONS. YOUR ASSESSMENT ON THAT?
IS HE SPOT ON WITH THE TARGET
THERE, AND WOULD THAT MAKE A
DENT ON THE VOLUME OF ATTACKS
EXPECTED AS MID TERMS ROLL
AROUND IF THEY DO INVEST IN
TRYING TO FOIL ANYTHING FROM
THESE SOURCES?
THESE SOURCES? >> I THINK THE DEPUTY ATTORNEY
GENERAL IS SPOT ON IN TERMS OF
THE TYPE OF THREATS.
AND HE’S TALKING SPECIFICALLY
ABOUT ELECTIONS.
ABOUT ELECTIONS. THIS IS SUCH A MUCH BROADER
ISSUE AGAINST ALL CRITICAL
INFRASTRUCTURE.
INFRASTRUCTURE. ELECTRIC POWER AND ENERGY,
WATER, ET CETERA.
IN TALKING ABOUT SPECIFICALLY
THE ELECTIONS, THE U.S.
GOVERNMENT HAS A LOT THAT THEY
CAN BRING TO BEAR AGAINST THESE
MULTIPLE ADVERSARIES.
MULTIPLE ADVERSARIES. FIRST THEY CAN BRING
INTELLIGENCE THAT THEY’VE
COLLECTED.
COLLECTED. TO MAKE PEOPLE AWARE.
THE LOCAL AGENCIES ABOUT WHO THE
PARTICULAR ACTORS ARE AND WHAT
TYPES OF THINGS THEY SHOULD BE
LOOKING FOR.
LOOKING FOR. THEY CAN ALSO PROVIDE EXPERTISE
IN TERMS OF INCIDENT RESPONSE,
TRAINING AND THE LIKE.
AT THE END OF THE DAY,
UNFORTUNATELY, THE GOVERNMENT IS
NOT PUTTING UP SENSORS IN THE
ISPs THAT ARE BLOCKING ALL THE
MALICIOUS TRAFFIC.
MALICIOUS TRAFFIC. THE LOCAL AGENCIES ARE GOING TO
BE RESPONSIBLE FOR DEPLOYING
TECHNOLOGY AND DETECTING AND
DISRUPTING THESE SPECIFIC
THREATS THEMSELVES.
THREATS THEMSELVES. THERE IS AN AWFUL LOT THE
GOVERNMENT CAN DO, A LOT MORE
THAT’S GOING TO REQUIRE A
COMPREHENSIVE PROCESS ACROSS ALL
THE AGENCIES IN THE U.S.
GOVERNMENT, BRINGING OUR
RESOURCES TO BEAR AGAINST THIS
MOST SIGNIFICANT THREAT TO OUR