An Urgent Letter
TimeWatch Editorial
November 13, 2016
Some amazingly revealing articles appeared in the media prior to the 2016 Presidential Election. The first such article was written by Bruce Schneier on July 27, 2016 in the Washington Post entitled “By November, Russian hackers could target voting machines.” His article describes him this way. Bruce Schneier is a security technologist and a lecturer at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. His latest book is "Data and Goliath: The Hidden Battles to Collect Your Data and Control Your World ." Here is how Bruce Schneier opens up the article.
“Russia was behind the hacks into the Democratic National Committee’s computer network that led to the release of thousands of internal emails just before the party’s convention began U.S. intelligence agencies have reportedly concluded. The FBI is investigating. WikiLeaks promises there is more data to come. The political nature of this cyberattack means that Democrats and Republicans are trying to spin this as much as possible. Even so, we have to accept that someone is attacking our nation’s computer systems in an apparent attempt to influence a presidential election. This kind of cyberattack targets the very core of our democratic process. And it points to the possibility of an even worse problem in November — that our election systems and our voting machines could be vulnerable to a similar attack.” Bruce Schneier, “By November, Russian hackers could target voting machines.” the Washington Post, July 27, 2016
Bruce Schneier advises that there must be an investigation. If the investigation leads to the revelation of evidence, there must be retribution.
“If the intelligence community has indeed ascertained that Russia is to blame, our government needs to decide what to do in response. This is difficult because the attacks are politically partisan, but it isessential. If foreign governments learn that they can influence our elections with impunity, this opens the door for future manipulations , both document thefts and dumps like this one that we see and more subtle manipulations that we don’t see. Retaliation is politically fraught and could have serious consequences, but this is an attack against our democracy. We need to confront Russian President Vladimir Putin in some way — politically, economically or in cyberspace — and make it clear that we will not tolerate this kind of interference by any government. Regardless of your political leanings this time, there’s no guarantee the next country that tries to manipulate our elections will share your preferred candidates.” Bruce Schneier, “By November, Russian hackers could target voting machines.” the Washington Post, July 27, 2016
But of course, the Washington Post article is not the only one that delivered a cautionary note. David E. Sanger , writing in the New York Times on August 29, 2016 headed his article this way. “Harry Reid Cites Evidence of Russian Tampering in U.S. Vote, and Seeks F.B.I. Inquiry” Harry Reid is of course the Senate Minority Leader, a Democrat, and is cited as writing a letter to James Comey, the FBI director. Note how the article puts it.
“The Senate minority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, asked the F.B.I. on Monday to investigate evidence suggesting that Russia may try to manipulate voting results in November. In a letter to the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey Jr., Mr. Reid wrote that the threat of Russian interference “is more extensive than is widely known and may include the intent to falsify official election results.” Recent classified briefings from senior intelligence officials, Mr. Reid said in an interview, have left him fearful that President Vladimir V. Putin’s “goal is tampering with this election.” News reports on Monday said the F.B.I. warned state election officials several weeks ago that foreign hackers had exported voter registration data from computer systems in at least one state, and had pierced the systems of a second one.” David E. Sanger , “Harry Reid Cites Evidence of Russian Tampering in U.S. Vote, and Seeks F.B.I. Inquiry” the New York Times, August 29, 2016
What is clearly amazing is the letter itself that was sent to the FBI director and the urgency that is expressed therein. Here is a look at the first part of that letter.
What happens next will soon be revealed. There are those who are shocked and surprised by the results of the election. This is but the beginning of a series of events that will perhaps awaken those who are asleep. There are things which we take for granted in our lives, only to be shaken out of our lethargy. We must be watchful concerning the events that will follow, so that we might be prepared for any eventuality.
Cameron A. Bowen
