Is Cyber a real threat to genuine democracy (aka this republic)?

2020-06-24T09:26:41-04:00

Update - 20:42, 24 Jun 2020: After posting this earlier today I see someone has changed the targeted groups I had set this post for. There is a reason I chose the groups I chose at that time. Also, I made sure the post was open to ALL the RP family so they could respond.

It is hard to get the word out without someone thinking they know better than you what you intend. For some of those exercising "political correctness" here on RP, please STOP. I am paying attention to the little things. My 1st Amendment is not your 1st amendment. Unless I have missed the "fine print" somewhere I am not being rude or otherwise inappropriate. Please quit trying to "realign" the way I expressing my thoughts that I fully take responsibility for. I resent it!!!

This is not purely a tech/cyber issue it is a political issue of our leaders (ALL our Leaders) and some on RP that follow the political goings on to know that the 2020 elections regardless of who you favor are in jeopardy and if we don't care to engage in the cyber threat from not just a tech perspective, but also from a political perspective to preserve, protect and defend the republic. Otherwise why have an RP community to begin with. Some discussions are hard, that is just the way it is. Whoever you are! Please stop!!!

I have restored (Congress) (Political Organization) and substituted (Policy) for (POTUS) as groups. Cyber threatens us all. I hope people that follow those groups weigh in regarding this very important issue to the safety and security of our nation!!!

Respectfully,

Me
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The internet has been slow of recent and it is funny how it slows up when certain issues are in the media. Please take a look at these reference links to make you own cyber threat assessment:

- https://www.digitalattackmap.com/#anim=1&color=0&country=ALL&list=0&time=18434&view=map
- https://threatmap.checkpoint.com/
- https://cybermap.kaspersky.com/
- https://www.fireeye.com/cyber-map/threat-map.html
- https://norse-corp.com/map/
- https://www.secureworldexpo.com/industry-news/6-live-cyber-attack-maps

From now until election day my guess is we can all expect increased and more severe attacks to our systems. When one source reports that "...Every 39 seconds, a cyber-attack occurs. While some of these are manually-targeted cyber-attacks, most of them are botnets steadfast on shutting down infrastructures and destroying computers and systems of major organizations...."

Additionally the source states "...There have been many, many worldwide cyber-attacks, and some are happening right now. The latest statistics say that security breaches have increased by 11% since 2018 and 67% since 2014...."

So, it is little wonder people are concerned for the integrity of US elections and why paper back up systems, at least in this moment in history have to be and remain FRAUD proof that all parties can believe in.

Question: Does the threat of cyber interference in our elections at all levels, especially national, play a large part in your concerns over the final results, especially for the 2020 election?

As always this topic will generate some heated debate from multiple fronts! It is a subject all Americans should not politicize; rather, should DEMAND from Congress, the Federal Election Commission along with STATE and LOCAL election officials to place front and center now lest we as a nation sink further into the distrust of our systems.

COL Mikel J. Burroughs; COL Lee Flemming; LCdr (Rabbah) Rona Matlow; Maj Robert Carson; CPT Aaron Kletzing; Maj Marty Hogan; SMSGT Gerald "Doc" Thomas; SCPO Morris Ramsey; Lt Col Charlie Brown; LTC Private RallyPoint Member; Maj William "Bill" Price; LTC Stephen C.; LTC Stephen F.; Capt Dwayne Conyers; CMSgt Private RallyPoint Member; SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth; LTC Jason Mackay; MSgt Robert "Rock" Aldi; MSgt Paul Connors (Publishing); SFC James J Palmer IV (JP4)

Digital Attack Map

A live data visualization of DDoS attacks around the globe

Response by Lt Col Charlie Brown made Jun 24 at 2020 9:46 AM

2020-06-24T09:46:54-04:00

Just keeps getting crazier or so I hear from my son who works in CyberCommand...

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Jun 24 at 2020 9:57 AM

2020-06-24T09:57:04-04:00

Isn't too much worse than the last election.

Response by Cpl Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 24 at 2020 9:57 AM

2020-06-24T09:57:49-04:00

Some people need to get their heads out of their arse, err phone and realize that our enemies can use addictive tech to manipulate our behavior. Propaganda is more damaging to a civil society than people can fathom. Our enemies do not have to be an offshore threat. People who refuse to believe a political party or their elected politicians and the bureaucratic parasites can't be an internal threat are naive and ignorant of history.

"A general dissolution of principles and manners will more surely overthrow the liberties of America than the whole force of the common enemy. While the people are virtuous they cannot be subdued; but when once they lose their virtue then will be ready to surrender their liberties to the first external or internal invader." - Samuel Adams to James Warren, February 12, 1779

Response by Cpl Tou Lee Yang made Jun 24 at 2020 9:58 AM

2020-06-24T09:58:31-04:00

I'm not concerned about myself because I work in the industry so I know how to prevent my system from being infected. And if my system is infected, I know how to remove it.

However, cyber threat is a real concern for the world at large, particularly with cyber-crime. My company was infected with the Zeto virus, a Ransomeware that this supposedly smart lady who's title is Q&A supervisor infected some of our system. Good thing I was at work early that day or the entire network would've been destroyed.

Furthermore, future warfare will be based in Cyberspace. With our adversary trying to knock out our western or eastern power grids. This would cause a huge ramification for everything computer related. And who's to say they haven't planted timebombs within our network?

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Jun 24 at 2020 10:04 AM

2020-06-24T10:04:30-04:00

This is not an ideological issue. Command and control as well as military and civilian communications are fully integrated on computers and the networks that connect them. Add to that finances, commerce, and the power grid and it’s easy to see the prime target for destroying any modern nation. The prime question is how well we are protecting it? The answer, as must be obvious, is of great strategic value and must be classified and protected at the highest level. Thus we are left to answer it by looking at the competency of those who occupy those lofty regions which is why I responded to the survey as “Yes, I am very concerned “

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Jun 24 at 2020 11:42 AM

2020-06-24T11:42:30-04:00

Some ten years ago a private citizen witnessed Chinese hackers going into the most sensitive government sites and stealing all the information in 30 minutes. He went to the FBI, and the FBI treated him like shit. Fucking FBI.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 24 at 2020 12:17 PM

2020-06-24T12:17:16-04:00

As for our democracy, I think the simplest answer is the best one: Voters need to show up at the polling place, show ID, and after casting their ballot, marked with indelible ink so they can't easily vote twice.
Authorized absentee ballots such as those for the military should have a similar process, and dealt with in a more deliberate way to prevent the practice of vote harvesting.
No need to worry about cyber problems if none of it is digital.

But in the grander scheme of things, it is far easier to steal secrets than to invent things yourself. China excels at this. It is also easier to spoof C2 and guidance/ navigational systems than to jam them or fortify key targets. Better to have that whiz-bang bomb miss expensively than to try and withstand it. Russia excels at this.

Response by Maj Kevin "Mac" McLaughlin made Jun 24 at 2020 2:11 PM

2020-06-24T14:11:40-04:00

Having worked within the communities of the Air Force, DOD, Federal Government, and even private industry (to include specifically the national infrastructure), yes, I am concerned and so should everyone else be concerned. On one hand the US is very good at offensive cyber operations but we have a lot of work to do to achieve cyber superiority from a defensive stand point. I would go as fas as to say we can do it better that most other nations, but we still have many vulnerabilities which can enable effects based targeting by our enemies.

Cyber crosses many realms in today's world.

1. It can be used as an information warfare tool through human perception operations (psyops, propaganda, media operations, etc).
2. It can be used to remotely attack our critical infrastructure such as power, energy, transportation, logistical systems, financial systems.
3. It can be used to influence the outcome of our elections, or political process, and the capabilities of our government.

That's just to name a few. As a former Red Team member for the Air Force, I've come up with all kinds of scenarios in which one could harm this country through cyber. Fortunately, we are getting after it. This country is evolving to improve our ability to holistically identify, report, track, and deal with malicious actors.

I'll also add... Those who think they are immune and voted they are not concerned are exactly why we have a defensive cyber operations problem. We are all vulnerable, and I have proven that fact all to many times to those who think they are smarter than the bad guys. Furthermore, if you could see the many events I've witnessed over the past 25 years in cyber, you be that much more concerned too.

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Jun 24 at 2020 8:32 PM

2020-06-24T20:32:21-04:00

CPO Nate S. CTO1, 21 Years a Navy Spook, Always a Concern With Me Doc.

Response by Tom Robertson made Jun 24 at 2020 8:38 PM

2020-06-24T20:38:08-04:00

Russia targeted voter information in blue cities that were in red states
They scrambled the info
When they voted the info was wrong so they were given a provisional ballot
Many red states through thosev ballets away .
Voter suppression at its best

Response by Sgt Aaron Cook made Jun 28 at 2020 3:26 AM

2020-06-28T03:26:55-04:00

Genuine democracy and this republic by definition cannot be the same thing. Very curious why those specific word were chosen.

As to the topic, any answer is biased. Russia released facts about democratic party campaign activity and people labeled it interference rather than thanking them for being better journalists than any of our clickerbating news sources. Our society's adherence to confirmation bias is the real threat, anything else is just feeding that.

Response by SSgt James Carter made Aug 30 at 2020 12:17 PM

2020-08-30T12:17:01-04:00

CPO Nate S. - are your personal medical and financial records private, critical data? Now, consider that same question in a global context.