Here comes Russia, back at it again with the hacking in time for midterms: Today's talker 'Many nations are already committing cyberattacks on a large scale, and the United States has done a poor job of responding to such attacks.'

USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Microsoft uncovers new Russian hacking attempts on conservative groups New Russian hacking attempts targeting U.S. Political conservative groups was just uncovered by Microsoft.

Microsoft reported Tuesday on new Russian hacking attempts targeting U.S. political groups ahead of the midterm elections.The attempts, tied to a hacking group affiliated with the Russian government, spoofed a pair of conservative think tanks, the Hudson Institute and the International Republican Institute.

The US can retaliate against a cyberattack, and should

The U.S. midterm election campaigns are well underway, and Russia is already reportedly trying to have a say in them.

This is a major cloud hanging over President Donald Trump's administration as it will certainly want to ensure that confidence is restored in the electoral system. One thing has been clear: The intrusion has led to increased scrutiny of voting systems.

Recent security conferences (Black Hat and DEF CON) discussed research on the latest threats, vulnerabilities and techniques of the cyberworld. And this time around, the voting systems for the U.S. midterms drew paramount focus from security researchers, learning that several states that use electronic voting systems had been purchasing parts off eBay after some of their systems became faulty.

The major risks exposed highlight two potential vulnerabilities to these systems:

►One of them is the ability to flash the memory that could allow tampering of the votes. If the master system was tampered with, you could use it to replicate to the other systems used within the same tree, producing the largest impact.

►In the opposite direction, while the votes are being counted, by tampering with a single device at the bottom of the network tree (when the master is copying those results), it is also possible to infect those systems with malware that could easily spread to other voting systems.

Of course, this does mean that physical access to those electronic voting systems would be required to carry out such attacks.

Another prominent method of hacking that is likely to be a major influence on these midterm elections is the use of falsified propaganda — fake news. Additionally, many states have also reported data theft, with more than 6 million people falling victim to having their voter information stolen in Georgia.

Independent cybercriminals, nation states or even U.S. campaign officials can use the data to determine the best way to influence voters in favor of their own preference or candidate.

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What is the U.S. government doing to help protect the future of voting and the democracy of the American people?

West Virginia decided to embrace innovation and allow the use of internet voting. This is similar to the system used by the Estonian government since 2005 and has proved a solid alternative to traditional methods of voting. The systems use strong identity and access management, multifactor authentication and blockchain, which maintain the integrity of the vote. Estonia has been using blockchain for more than 10 years to ensure that it is difficult to tamper with data, including tax, voting and healthcare information.

According to Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid, "Russia has not made any further advances" since her government implemented sanctions.

Many nations are already committing cyberattacks on a large scale, and the United States has done a poor job of responding to such attacks. For example, the attacks on the Democratic National Committee and the Office of Personnel Management yielded very little action from the U.S. government.

Just recently, according to The Wall Street Journal, Trump made it easier for America to launch cyberattacks using offensive cyberweapons against adversaries, not coincidentally just before the midterm elections and at a time when cyberattacks are actively ongoing. This absolutely is a public indication that the U.S. government is notifying all foreign entities that anyone who carries out cyberattacks will likely face retaliation — this would include any foreign interference with the U.S. elections.

Candidates running for office need further protection as they must be prepared for advanced cyberattacks. Taking advantage of free resources out there to protect themselves is a start and something that anyone running for federal, state and local elected offices should seriously consider to protect themselves, their campaigns and constituents from cyberattacks.

Joseph Carson is the chief security scientist at Thycotic and a certified information systems security professional.

What our readers are saying

And what will President Donald Trump say about this report? And who will he blame this time? I think we know.

— Len Kivi

Expect a forthcoming Trump tweet rant blaming it on some 400-pound guy working for the Clinton Foundation, funded by profits from Hillary Clinton selling our Uranium. Yeah, that's gotta be it.

— David Hoeltje

Fault lies entirely with the Hudson Institute and the International Republican Institute for not protecting their systems.

— Amit Gupta

My question is: How does Microsoft know that it was, indeed, Russians, since our own cyberforces have the ability to disguise their hacks so as to imitate those of other nations?

— Gene Seiler

What others are saying

Jonah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times: "Here’s the thing. If Russia wants to stay true to its original strategy of fueling the dumpster fire that is American politics right now, it very well might want the Democrats to take back Congress. ... I’m not predicting the Russians will — or can — do anything significant to affect the midterms. Nor am I arguing that people should vote for the Democrats. Indeed, the prospect of such a crazy 2019 might be an argument for Trump-skeptical but drama-weary and impeachment-wary Republicans to vote to keep the GOP in control."

The New York Times, editorial: "Despite repeated warnings from United States intelligence agencies regarding the nation’s vulnerabilities, there remains no focused, coordinated plan by the White House for dealing with this crucial security issue. Nor does President Donald Trump seem comfortable criticizing, much less holding accountable, the baddest of bad actors identified by American intelligence agencies — Mr. Vladimir Putin. Quite the opposite: When it comes to cyberattacks on American democracy, the message coming from this president reeks of confusion, equivocation and weakness."

Julia Davis, The Daily Beast: "The midterm elections are perceived as another mechanism of influence that could prevent the implementation of the most severe sanctions against Russia. ... The Kremlin’s power players are unanimous in not suggesting any change to Russia’s dangerous path on a collision course with the West. Maybe they aren’t taking the Trump administration and the Republican leadership seriously. Maybe they really do think the midterms will save them. Maybe they know something we don’t."

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