Next week the U.S intelligence community will release a public report that will detail how Russia used cyberattacks to influence the U.S election in Trump’s favour. James Clapper told a senate panel on Thursday that U.S Intelligence will release a document with a significant portion of it available to the public.
The report was ordered by the Obama administration last week who are convinced that the Russians were behind the hacking.
Lawmakers will see the classified aspects of the document.
Clapper testified, “Until then, I’m not really prepared to discuss this beyond our earlier statements. “There is actually more than one motive. That will be detailed in the report.”
Senate Armed Services Chairman John McCain wants to see a hard line taken against nations that try and hack America. He said, “There is no escaping the fact that this committee meets today for the first time in this new Congress in the aftermath of an unprecedented attack on our democracy.
“The goal of this review, as I understand it, is not to question the outcome of the presidential election. Nor should it be. As both President Obama and President-elect Trump have said, our nation must move forward. But we must do so with full knowledge of the facts. I trust Director Clapper will brief the Congress on his review when it is completed. This is not the time or place to preview its findings.”
He went on to say that the U.S was too vulnerable to cyberattacks. “What seems clear is that our adversaries have reached a common conclusion: that the reward for attacking America in cyberspace outweighs the risk.
“For years, cyberattacks on our nation have been met with indecision and inaction. Our nation has had no policy, and thus no strategy, for cyber deterrence. This appearance of weakness has been provocative to our adversaries, who have attacked us again and again, with growing severity. Unless we demonstrate that the costs of attacking the United States outweigh the perceived benefits, these cyber threats will only grow.”
The intelligence agencies will release the document next week.
