Former NSA director says Russia was involved in 2016 election – CBS News

Former National Security Director Gen. Keith Alexander told members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in a Thursday afternoon hearing on Russian meddling in the 2016 election cycle that he believes the country indeed interfered.

Thats one area where experts in the hearing on Russian interference and seemingly, members on both sides of the aisle were in agreement. Virginia Democratic Sen. Mark Warner, the intelligence committees vice chairman, asked the witnesses if they had any doubt that Russians interfered in the 2016 election cycle.

I believe they were involved, Gen. Alexander said.

Fellow witnesses Kevin Mandia, chief executive officer of cybersecurity company FireEye, and Thomas Rid, professor at the Department of War Studies at Kings College in London, answered along similar lines. Mandia said it absolutely stretches credulity to think they were not involved. Rid said Russia seized an opportunity in 2016 when the U.S. was extremely polarized, politically speaking.

The more polarized a society, the more vulnerable it is, Rid said.

Democrats for monthshave called for a Capitol Hill probe into any Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, but the Republican-controlled intelligence committees are just now beginning to hold public hearings.

Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio revealed in the hearing that would-be hackers with IP addresses in Russia attempted to sabotage his former presidential campaign staff as recently as Wednesday, giving weight to cybersecurity experts remarks in a hearing earlier Thursdayon the same topic that Russia isnt done intervening in U.S. politics.

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The Senate Intelligence Committee will hear from experts on Russian interference in the 2016 election. CBS News' Jeff Pegues reports from Washing...

The afternoon hearing came on the heels of a New York Times report that a pair of White House officials helped provide Rep. Devin Nunes, a California Republican and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, with intelligence reports showing President Donald Trump and his associates were included in foreign surveillance sweeps by American spy agencies. Some critics fear Nunes is too close to Mr. Trump to handle investigations into any Russian interference into the presidential election.

During an earlier hearing on the same subject Thursday, cybersecurityexperts told the Senate panelthat Russia had every ability to create fake social media accounts by mimicking profiles of voters in key election states and precincts in the 2016 election, and use a mix of bots and real people to push propaganda from state-controlled media outlets like Russia Today (RT) and Sputnik.

Mandia said its tough to differentiate between bots and humans as bots become smarter, and the U.S. cant fight Russia with cyber tactics alone.

It just feels like were in a glass house throwing rocks at a mud hut, he said.

FBI Director James Comey revealed last week the FBI is investigating any possible ties between President Donald Trump and Russia.

Heres our live-blog from earlier, below.

4:03 p.m. The hearing is adjourned.

4:01 p.m. Guccifer 2.0 is definitely not just one human being, Rid said, because of the differences in writing, but he said he is confident Guccifer 2.0 is an agent of the Russian government.

3:57 p.m. Rid said Congress may be more susceptible to hacking than others, as ethics rules sometimes require members to have multiple devices, and thus, they have more to secure.

3:41 p.m.Mandia said merely fighting Russia with cyber-on-cyber warfare wont work.

It just feels like were in a glass house throwing rocks at a mud hud, he said.

3:34 p.m. West Virginia Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin asked about the extent of Russias ability to meddle the 2016 election.

Could they have drastically changed the outcome of the election? Manchin said.

I have no idea, Mandia responded.

3:29 p.m.: Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Lankford asked witnesses if mysterious hacker Guccifer 2.0 is definitely linked to Russia.

I think its remarkably consistent, Mandia said.

3:10 p.m. New Mexico Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich said members of his family and staff have also been victims of phishing attempts to sabotage their personal information.

3:07 p.m.Sen. John Cornyn, the Senate majority whip from Texas, asked Gen. Alexander how important the somewhat-controversial Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) is, given that its coming up for reauthorization in Congress. The law is controversial because it allows for physical and electronic surveillance measures.

I think thats the most important program thats out there, especially in counterterrorism, Gen. Alexander said.

2:40 p.m.Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio said he will not address claims that he was the target of a Russian cyberattack, but said members of his former campaign staff were targeted both during the campaign, and as recently as Wednesday. Wednesdays attempt, which came from an IP in Russia, failed, he said.

2:31 p.m.Democratic Sen. Mark Warner, the committees vice chairman, asked if any of the witnesses had any doubt that Russians interfered in the 2016 election cycle.

You cant always connect the dots, Mandia said, but added, It absolutely stretches credulity to think they were not involved.

I believe they were involved, Gen. Alexander said.

I believe they were involved as well, Rid added.

Warner next asked if it was possible for the Russians to target voters at the precinct level with a network of bots.

Possible to target precinct levels with a botnet network for specific precincts?

Alexander: I think its technically possible, Gen. Alexander said, adding he couldnt confirm how much that happened.

2:24 p.m. Russia seized an opportunity in 2016 when the U.S. was very polarized politically, said Thomas Rid, a professor at the Department of War Studies at Kings College in London.

The more polarized a society, the more vulnerable it is, Thomas Rid said.

Russian intelligence operations by 2015 began combining the tools of hacking and leaking, targeting defense and diplomatic entities, Rid said.

Russia likes to use unwitting agents, Rid said, adding that Wikileaks, Twitter and over-eager journalists contributed to Russias efforts in 2016.

2:18 p.m.Retired Gen. Keith Alexander, former director of the National Security Agency, said the U.S. needs to determine Russias motives for interfering in elections or politics.

Whats Russia trying to do, and why are they trying to do it? he said.

Gen. Alexander said the U.S. cant shy away from or ignore Russia.

I believe we have to engage and confront, he said.

2:14p.m. Witness and cybersecurity expert Kevin Mandia said Russians began changing their rules of engagement for cyber warfare in August or September 2014. Also in 2014, a group they attributed to the Russian government began compromising organizations and leaking data, something experts hadnt seen before, he said.

It is our view that the United States is going to continue to see these things happen, Mandia said.

Mandia said the U.S. needs to know who is behind the hacking, which requires international cooperation. Only then can the U.S. determine a proportional response, he said.

2:06 p.m.Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr opens the hearing.

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Former NSA director says Russia was involved in 2016 election - CBS News