The United States military has started its first known overseas operation to deter alleged Russian operatives from meddling in American elections, US media reported on Tuesday.
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd October, 2018) The United States military has started its first known overseas operation to deter alleged Russian operatives from meddling in American elections, US media reported on Tuesday.
The United States Cyber Command has increased its activity in recent days, sending direct messages to the alleged operatives saying that American specialists have identified them and are following their work, the New York Times reported, citing officials briefed on the operation.
The report noted that US intelligence officials have concluded that Russia is unlikely to try to directly manipulate voting results in this year's elections by hacking into voting systems or attacking election infrastructure. But US officials believe that Russia continues to spread false information in a bid to influence the opinions of voters, mostly with an eye toward the 2020 presidential election, the report added.
The report did not indicate how successful the US cyber operation has been, or whether it prompted alleged operatives to cease their malicious activity.
Defense officials interviewed by the newspaper would not reveal how many Russians are being targeted or how the US Cyber Command delivered messages to the alleged operatives, according to the report. But some officials told the New York Times that the targets were involved in the alleged 2016 effort to influence the vote, the report said.
The United States is preparing to hold midterm elections on November 6.
The United States has repeatedly accused Moscow of meddling in the 2016 election. Russia has refuted all allegations of interfering with the vote, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying that such accusations are absolutely unfounded. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in turn, argued that no evidence had been provided to substantiate the allegations. In addition, Russian President Vladimir Putin has assured Washington that Russia did not meddle in the election.
