The official cyberwarfare division of America's military successfully blocked off Internet access for the Russian government's notorious “troll factory” on the day of the 2018 U.S. midterm elections.
Quite the story out today from Ellen Nakashima at the Washington Post.
Russia's Internet Research Agency (IRA) in the city of St. Petersburg is reported to have been engaged in an active campaign “to sow discord among Americans during the 2018 midterms,” several U.S. officials told the Washington Post.
The denial of service attack from the USA on voting day reportedly worked (not that we're in a position to verify it?), and was intended to serve as a warning that “the Kremlin’s operations against the United States are not cost-free.”
The action has been hailed as a success by Pentagon officials, and some U.S. senators credited CyberCom with averting Russian interference in the midterms.
“The fact that the 2018 election process moved forward without successful Russian intervention was not a coincidence,” said Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), who did not discuss the specific details of the operation targeting the St. Petersburg group. Without CyberCom’s efforts, there “would have been some very serious cyber incursions.”
No comment from CyberCom or NSA.
They typically don't comment.
READ MORE: U.S. Cyber Command operation disrupted Internet access of Russian troll factory on day of 2018 midterms [washingtonpost.com]
