President Obama orders full review of alleged Russian hacking in US Election

President Barack Obama has ordered US intelligence agencies to deeper investigate the alleged Russian interference with the 2016 Presidential Election.

President Barack Obama is going to close his Presidential mandate, in one of the conclusive activities he has ordered intelligence agencies to deeper investigate the alleged Russian interference with the Presidential Election. He ordered a “full review” of cyber attacks against the DNC that attempted to influence the final vote of Americans.

“The President earlier this week instructed the intelligence community to conduct a full review of the pattern of malicious cyber activity related to our presidential election cycle,” said White House spokesman Eric Schultz.

The Obama’s counterterrorism and homeland security adviser Lisa Monaco announced that President Obama had “directed the Intelligence Community to conduct a full review of what happened during the 2016 election process.”

Monaco added the Trump administration would address rapidly growing cyber threats.

The President requested that the full report will be released before the end of his term, in January of 2017.

“Obama has asked the intelligence community to deliver its final report before he leaves office, raising the prospect that agencies may conclude that a foreign power successfully altered the trajectory of the Nov. 8 election just days before Trump’s inauguration.” reported the Politico.com.

“The review will put the spate of hacks — which officials have blamed on Russia — “in a greater context” by framing them against the “malicious cyber activity” that may have occurred around the edges of the 2008 and 2012 president elections, White House spokesman Eric Schultz said during Friday’s briefing.”

“This will be a review that is broad and deep at the same time,” he added.

Many US politicians urge a response to the Russian Government, just before the 2016 US Presidential Election, the US Vice President Joe Biden during an interview with NBC explained that “message” would be sent to Russian President Vladimir Putin over the alleged hacking.

It is a historical declaration, for the first time in a diplomatic context, a member of a government invoke a cyber attack as a deterrent measure.

“Vice President Joe Biden told “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd on Friday that “we’re sending a message” to Putin and that “it will be at the time of our choosing, and under the circumstances that will have the greatest impact.” reported the NBCnews.

“When asked if the American public will know a message was sent, the vice president replied, “Hope not.“”

Recently, at a Heritage Foundation event, Chairman of House Homeland Security Michael McCaul, also urges a response to the Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.

“If we don’t respond and show them that there are consequences,” McCaul said, “the bad behavior will continue… our democracy itself is being targeted.”

Trump has a different opinion of the alleged Russian interference in the Presidential Election:

“I don’t believe they interfered,” Trump told in an interview with Time magazine. “That became a laughing point – not a talking point, a laughing point. Anytime I do something, they say, ‘Oh, Russia interfered.'”

The unique certainly is that the results of this “full review” on pre-election hacking could have a serious impact also on the US internal affairs.

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Pierluigi Paganini

(Security Affairs – 2016 Presidential Election, President Obama)

Pierluigi Paganini

Pierluigi Paganini is member of the ENISA (European Union Agency for Network and Information Security) Threat Landscape Stakeholder Group and Cyber G7 Group, he is also a Security Evangelist, Security Analyst and Freelance Writer. Editor-in-Chief at "Cyber Defense Magazine", Pierluigi is a cyber security expert with over 20 years experience in the field, he is Certified Ethical Hacker at EC Council in London. The passion for writing and a strong belief that security is founded on sharing and awareness led Pierluigi to find the security blog "Security Affairs" recently named a Top National Security Resource for US. Pierluigi is a member of the "The Hacker News" team and he is a writer for some major publications in the field such as Cyber War Zone, ICTTF, Infosec Island, Infosec Institute, The Hacker News Magazine and for many other Security magazines. Author of the Books "The Deep Dark Web" and “Digital Virtual Currency and Bitcoin”.