RUSSIAN STYLE ELECTION MEDDLING. GET READY FOR THIS ONE, BECAUSE
OUR NEXT STORY INVOLVES THE KIND
OF COINCIDENCE THAT BOB MUELLER
IS INTERESTED IN.
EVEN IF IT TURNS OUT TO BE A
COINCIDENCE.
COINCIDENCE. NEW REPORTS THAT A MUELLER
WITNESS ONCE OUTLINED HOW
RUSSIANS COULD LAUNCH A WEB
ATTACK AGAINST A U.S. ELECTION.
A CYBER EXTRA OUTLINED THIS
SCENARIO IN 2015 ACCORDING TO
DAILY BEAST.
DAILY BEAST. SOME OF THE PARALLELS ARE
STRIKING.
STRIKING. BUT MANY PEOPLE IN CYBER AND LAW
ENFORCEMENT WERE IMAGINING CYBER
ATTACKS.
ATTACKS. HERE’S ONE YOU MIGHT RECOGNIZE.
THE FBI DIRECTOR IN 2013
IMAGINING A CYBER ATTACK THAT
COULD WITH BE WORSE THAN
CONVENTIONAL TERRORISM.
CONVENTIONAL TERRORISM. >> CYBER CRIMINALS HAVE BECOME
ADEPT AT INCREASING WEAKNESSES
IN OUR NETWORKS.
I THINK THE CYBER THREAT MAY
ECLIPSE THE TERRORIST THREAT IN
YEARS TO COME.
>> WHILE HE WAS NOT TALKING IT
UP.
UP. HE ALSO MET WITH DONALD TRUMP,
JR. AND TOP TRUMP AIDE RICK
GATES WHO WOULD LATER BE
INDICTED, PITCHING A CYBER
EFFORT THAT CREATED THOUSANDS OF
MEDIA ACCOUNTS IN ORDER TO
SUPPORT TRUMP AND DISPARAGE HIS
OPPONENTS.
OPPONENTS. >> THAT MAY START TO LOOK LIKE A
COINCIDENCE.
COINCIDENCE. LET’S BE CLEAR.
GATES AND TRUMP JUNIOR REJECTED
THOSE SERVICES ACCORDING TO "NEW
YORK TIMES".
YORK TIMES". THE MUELLER PROBE QUESTIONED
THIS GUY I’M TELLING YOU ABOUT
AND ULTIMATELY INDICTING
RUSSIANS FOR SIMILAR INCIDENTS
EVEN IF THEY WERE UNRELATED.
>> THE INDICTMENT CHARGES 13
RUSSIAN NATIONALS SEEKING TO
INTERFERE IN THE UNITED STATES
POLITICAL SYSTEM, INCLUDING THE
2016 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.
>> THE OPERATION PITCHED THE
CAMPAIGN IS BACK IN THE NEWS.
IT’S ON MUELLER’S RADAR.
IT’S IN A NEW REPORT.
ONE OF THE CREATORS OF THE
PITCH, PETER MARINO, SAYS AT THE
TIME THE CYBER PITCH FELT LIKE
AN INTELLECTUAL EXERCISE NOW IT
FEELS A BIT TOO MUCH ON THE NOSE
TO BE DISTURBING.
WE ARE GOING TO THE SOURCE.
PETER MARINO JOINS ME RIGHT NOW.
THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.
>> THANK YOU FOR HAVING MANY E.
>> WHAT WAS THE THE PITCH AND
WAS IT MORE OF A WHAT IF YOU HAD
A CYBER ATTACK LIKE THIS OR HOW
DO YOU PULL OFF A CYBER ATTACK
LIKE IN.
LIKE IN. >> YESLIKE THIS?
>> SO THE FIRM, A NUMBER OF
ANALYSTS, WAS POSED BOTH OF
THOSE QUESTIONS.
THOSE QUESTIONS. WHAT WOULD THE CONSEQUENCES BE,
HOW WOULD IT BE PULLED OFF?
AND THAT THE SPECULATIONS RANGED
FROM THE POSSIBILITY THAT IT
MIGHT DO VERY LITTLE TO THE
POSSIBILITY THAT IT COULD
ACTUALLY BE RATHER SUBSTANTIAL
AND RATHER DELETERIOUS TO THE
INSTITUTIONAL INTEGRITY OF
DEMOCRACIES.
DEMOCRACIES. >> VERY CLEAR ANSWER.
SO WHAT’S THE POINT OF SHARING
ANY OF THAT WITH AN ACTIVE
CANDIDATE OR CAMPAIGN?
>> WELL THE POINT COULD BE IN
ORDER TO ENCOURAGE THEM OR AT
LEAST SUGGEST THE POSSIBILITY
THAT SUCH TECHNIQUES MIGHT BE
PUT TO EFFECTIVE USE ON BEHALF
HOFF THAT CANDIDATE
OWE OF THAT CANDIDATE.
>> IS THIS THE THING EVERYONE
SITS AROUND IS UNAWARE UNTIL IT
BLEW UP?
BLEW UP? >> I’D SAY THAT A RELATIVELY
NAIR ASSERTION.
NAIR ASSERTION. THE POSSIBILITIES THAT WERE
IMAGINED BY THIS REPORT WERE
REALLY NOT FRONT AND CENTER IN
THE AMERICAN POLITICAL
DISCOURSE.
DISCOURSE. >> RIGHT.
>> RIGHT. WE SORT OF HAVE AN INTELLECTUAL
BIAS, OH, THIS HAPPENED, NOW WE
ARE THINKING ABOUT IT.
IT’S FASCINATING TO TALK TO
PEOPLE LIKE YOU IN IT.
YOU CAN GO BACK NINE YEARS.
I WILL PLAY NOW BOB MUELLER ALSO
TALKING THE WAY YOU GUYS TALK.
YOU STUDY THIS STUFF.
YOU WERE THINKING ABOUT IT.
HE WAS CONCERNED ABOUT THESE
TYPE OF ATTACKS.
TAKE A LOOK AT MUELLER.
>> THE COUNTERINTELLIGENCE
THREAT TO THE UNITED STATES
CONTINUES TO PERSIST AS WE SAW
WITH A RECENT ARREST OF A
NETWORK OF RUSSIAN SPIES,
FOREIGN ADVERSARIES, HOWEVER, DO
NOT RELY EXCLUSIVELY ON SUCH
CONSIDERABLE AGENT NETWORKS.
THEY INCREASINGLY EMPLOY
NON-TRADITIONAL COLLECTORS, SUCH
AS STUDENTS, VISITING
SCIENTISTS, BUSINESSMEN, AS WELL
AS CYBER-BASED TOOLS TO TARGET
AND PENETRATE THE UNITED STATES
INSTITUTIONS.
INSTITUTIONS. >> I’D SAY HE WAS ON TO
SOMETHING.
SOMETHING. >> YES.
>> YES. >> I THINK YOU AND YOUR
COLLEAGUES WERE ON TO SOMETHING?
>> YES.
>> YES. >> THE BIG QUESTION WHEN IT
COMES TO THE POTENTIAL GUILT
HERE IS, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE
PRESENTATION OF THIS TO THOSE
TRUMP AIDES.
TRUMP AIDES. >> MM-HMM.
>> MM-HMM. >> DOES THAT MAKE THEM LOOK
WORSE BECAUSE THEY KNEW ABOUT IT
OR BETTER BECAUSE THEY REJECTED
IT OR IS IT IRRELEVANT?
>> I’D SAY WITH RESPECT TO THEM,
IT IS MORE OR LESS IRRELEVANT.
THE FACT IS THAT PEOPLE IN THEIR
POSITION UP UNTIL 2015 WERE NOT
AS INTIMATELY INVOLVED IN THE
KIND OF DISCOURSE THAT DIRECTOR
MUELLER THEN DIRECTOR MUELLER
WAS DISCUSSING.
WAS DISCUSSING. >> YOU ARE NICELY SAYING IT
MIGHT HAVE GONE OVER THEIR
HEADS?
HEADS? >> YES, I AM BEING RATHER
EUPHEMISTIC ABOUT IT.
ARE THEY FRIEND OF YOURS OR ARE
YOU A NICE PERSON?
>> I TEND TO NOT SPECULATE ABOUT
PEOPLE’S INTELLECTUAL CAPACITY
UNTIL SPEAKING TO THEM FIRST.
>> WHAT IF YOU STUDY THEM?
IF YOU WATCH THEM ON TV AND SAY
DID THEY GET IT OR NOT?
>> INSOFAR AS I WOULD SAY IT
WENT OVER THEIR HEADS.
>> FAIR.
>> FAIR. CAN THESE SWING AN ELECTION OR
NOT?
NOT? IS THIS BACKGROUND NOISE?
>> THEY CAN SWING AN ELECTION.
THE MORE SIGNIFICANT THING WE
WERE TALKING ABOUT IN THE REPORT
WAS ACTUALLY THE LONG-TERM