Thread by @Pbarry122

THREAD: This summer @DNI @SenDanCoats said that when it came to #cybersecurity, the lights were "blinking red." After reading @KimZetter's penetrating piece, it is more clear than ever that when it comes to #ElectionSecurity, America has turned off the alarm system. /1

https://twitter.com/KimZetter/status/1044970203577241600

Quite simply, despite an unprecented act of information warfare combining espionage, computational propoganda, computer hacking and exploitation of our election systems, our country has not taken sufficient action to reduce the risk of it happening again and again /2

I don't mean to disrespect my former @DHS colleagues, who repeatedly have said they have seen no signs of direct manipulation of election votes, but this quote from @KimZetter's piece is damning: "the truth is that no one has really looked for evidence" of election hacking. /3

The other option-Deterring interference by Russia or others-has been similarly kneecapped. #POTUS has failed to call out Russian aggression or respond to it seriously. Congress has taken valuable but limited action. Already we've seen signs that Russia hasnt been deterred! /6

Just this week, the @nytimes has reported on the latest efforts by Russia to mount similar efforts. Why should they feel deterred? Russia is literally doing the exact same thing as before, likely because our response has been pitiful. nytimes.com/2018/09/25/tec… /7

We might not be able to "solve" this problem, but reasonable measures abound. Some simple steps could dramatically increase our security and achieve a measure of deterrence. /8

DoD's new cyber strategy is a positive step. Now @DoD and #USCYBERCOM must double down and focus on implementation, including by achieving far greater integration of cyber capabilities into our overall strategies to deter adversaries who threaten our elections. /9

Action by Congress would be another healthy step - if only they would take it! And, as highlighted in @KimZetter's piece: we need sustained, not ad hoc engagement on this topic. /10

Most of all - We need govt officials to stop minimizing the problem. #POTUS45 is the worst offender, but even some in @DHS and @NPPD have done it. I cut my teeth in CT before focusing on cyber. I've never seen a risk so massive, with so little action. It's astonishing. /Fin

And yet, despite increased awareness of these vulnerabilities, #congress has taken only limited action to improve #cybersecurity. In fact, the latest announcement by @SenatorLankford shows that what serious proposals there were, have fallen victim to GOP partisanship. /5

We cannot be certain our elections are free of this manipulation without forensic analysis. We DO KNOW, thanks to efforts by @defcon, that our election systems have MULTIPLE vulnerabilities and MULTIPLE ways of manipulating results, even without access to those systems /4