Thread by @hughhewitt

This 5 alarmer from @peterbakernyt —> “The administration also took the unusual step of naming the Russian government as the force behind a series of intrusions into American power plants and the computer networks that control power grids.

The attacks, known as “Dragonfly,” pierced many layers of security and would have allowed the intruders to sabotage systems, experts say. But there is no evidence any sabotage took place.

Those attacks have been known to the American government for more than a year, but kept highly classified. Symantec Corporation, which markets systems that detect malware and protect against it, issued a detailed report about Dragonfly in October 2017.

but stopped short of naming the Russians.

[The investigation reviewed] [t]he cyber assaults last year [that] targeted energy and nuclear power stations in the United States and Europe. Among the victims was the Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation, which runs a nuclear power

plant near Burlington, Kansas, according to security responders and a joint report issued by the Department of Homeland Security and the F.B.I. last June. Those attacks suggest Russian state-sponsored hackers have been actively mapping out Western industrial, power and nuclear

facilities in preparation, some believe, for eventual sabotage. There is no evidence to date that Russian hackers were able to jump from the operator’s corporate networks into the production networks that control plant operations, but forensics investigators and U.S. officials

believe the attacks were designed to look for ways to make that jump into the plant operations themselves”
BIG story from @peterbakernyt. NOT a partisan issue. Have to get Congress to actually work it, fund it, defend the grid before it goes down b/c Putin is pissed that we are

pissed because he assasinates UK (and US?) residents whimsically and with nerve agents banned by international law, b/c they work with Butcher Assad and rogue Mullahs to exploit @brhodes Little Prince view of the world. Read the whole @peterbakernyt piece mobile.nytimes.com/2018/03/15/us/…

and reconcile to Romney being right in 2012 and Team Obama disastrously wrong. Recovery begins with realistic assemement of how much 44 hurt us after 43 had recovered the initiative. History will show 44 th worst ever but we can’t just sigh and say we’d hoped for better.

We have to fix it. That means @SpeakerRyan @GOPLeader, @SteveScalise @SenateMajLdr @JohnCornyn and @JohnThune spend serious 3-6 days hammering out a plan w/ the best brains. The tax cuts are not enough. You crossed the Channel. Now you have to get to Berlin. #Godspeed.