Russia using social media to divide Americans, says US homeland security head
Homeland Security Department says Russian hackers don’t appear so focussed on mid-term elections as they were on Trump and Clinton’s 2016 clash
US homeland security has played down concerns Russian hackers might target this year’s midterm elections with the same “scale or scope” they allegedly did in the 2016 presidential election.
Kirstjen Nielsen spoke at a convention of state secretaries of state, an event that is normally a low-key affair discussing voter registration, balloting devices and election security issues that do not usually get much attention. But coming after fresh allegations Russia tried to sway the 2016 election, the sessions have suddenly become more popular.
Nielsen said her agency will help state and local election officials prepare their systems for cyberattacks from Russia or elsewhere.
She said US intelligence officials are seeing “persistent Russian efforts using social media, sympathetic spokespeople and other fronts to sow discord and divisiveness amongst the American people, though not necessarily focused on specific politicians or political campaigns”.
The conference of top state election officials she addressed was sandwiched between Friday’s indictments of 12 Russian military intelligence officers alleged to have hacked into Democratic Party and campaign accounts and Monday’s long-awaited meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.