(Washington Insider Magazine) -Many countries utilize cyber-espionage: the use of advanced technology to both monitor and sometimes attack other countries for political interests or gain. Although both the United States and Russia have a history of cyber-surveillance, Russia reportedly goes further, using its cyber capabilities to start bouts of information warfare. One of the most famous of these cyber interferences was the 2016 presidential election.
Only a short time after Donald Trump was pronounced President of the United States in 2016, rumors of Russian interference in the election process started swirling. The official term was collusion, and there were allegations that a Russian entity somehow tampered with the results of the election. It’s important to note that the term “collusion” should not be used as a synonym for any criminal acts; in fact, collusion itself is not a crime. However, that does not mean that the 2016 presidential elections were without criminal acts on the American side.
For example, it’s illegal for any foreign country to provide anything “of value” to a presidential campaign. Therefore, if any member of the Trump or Clinton campaigns procured something valuable — such as information — from Russia, it would be considered a crime. Of course, requesting information from a foreign power doesn’t equate to the possible ramifications of hacking into databases and interfering with elections from the inside.
In October of 2016, the United States accused Russia of just that — hacking into the DNC’s computer system in an attempt to interfere with the election results. The hackers — under the moniker Guccifer 2.0 — released classified information about the Hillary Clinton campaign to the public. Some of the leaked information included internal campaign communications, classified and controversial emails, research on Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton’s public and private views on Wall Street, and more.
However, the interference wasn’t limited to just one incident: it involved a long-term series of events and attempts to mess with the election. Throughout the course of the entire election, Russian hackers and officials searched American voter databases for vulnerabilities, released politically incendiary information on the internet, spread propaganda on social media, organized meetings with members of the Trump campaign, staged rallies in Pennsylvania and Florida, and more. Clearly, Russia had a hand in the election the entire time; and they used cybercrime to get the job done.
After a thorough investigation into the hacking, U.S. intelligence agencies stated that the hacking was organized by President Vladimir Putin in an effort to help Donald Trump’s chances of being elected. Despite the severity of the act, the U.S. proceeded with what many called a far too restrained response.
This interference with the U.S. election is not the first time that cybersecurity between Russia and the U.S. has been an issue. Russia and the U.S. have been discussing cybersecurity through diplomacy since 1998; in fact, in June 2013, a cybersecurity agreement was reached. However, shortly after the agreement was made, Edward Snowden shared an unprecedented amount of information about the U.S.’s cyber-surveillance tactics. He fled to Russia, where his extradition was denied. This tension between the two countries kept the cybersecurity agreement from being fully realized.
Cybersecurity tensions between the U.S. and Russia remain high, largely because of differing perspectives. Russia has expressed interest in drawing up and signing an international treaty on cyber-surveillance, while the U.S. prefers to operate under a shared understanding between the countries. The U.S. wants to have cybercrime very tightly controlled, while Russia — and China — prefer to have an all-encompassing agreement on cyber-security.
Additionally, Russia and the U.S. simply cannot seem to agree on certain topics. For example, cybercrime is officially frowned upon internationally, but where is the line? Some countries believe that cybercrime technologies should be labeled Weapons of Mass Destruction while others believe that cybercrime should be allowed in certain contexts.
The fear here is both clear and understandable: if Russia and the U.S. can never reach an agreement regarding cyber-espionage, there is the possibility of all-out information warfare. Certainly, cyber-espionage can be effectively damaging. Although Russian interference has never been proven as the cause of Trump’s victory, the possibility should not be ignored. And if cyber-espionage can decide leaders of countries, the possible ramifications speak for themselves.
Sources:
Cyber Threat in Interstate Relations: Case of US-Russia Cyber Tensions (jstor.org)
What Is Collusion? Is It Even a Crime? – POLITICO Magazine
Here’s What We Know So Far About Russia’s 2016 Meddling | Time