With special counsel Robert Mueller putting together a case for criminal charges against Russian nationals who supposedly hacked and then leaked emails designed to hurt Democrats in the 2016 election, the question becomes, “What will international meddlers attempt to do this time around?”
Reports have recently surfaced that indicate charges including conspiracy as well as violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act may be filed in the coming weeks and months. These emails were allegedly said to have been provided to Wikileaks by former DNC staffer Seth Rich and were referred to during the presidential election at least 145 times by then-candidate Donald Trump.
For all the spectacle of possible charges, the likelihood of any potential trials and convictions are severely limited due to legal constraints related to the capture and extradition of these international nuisances.
Underreported by American media outlets has been the story of Konstantin Kozlovsky. Kozlovsky is currently jailed on charges of stealing millions from Russian financial institutions, but he also built the software that was supposedly used to hack the Democratic National Committee and other American targets.
Kozlovsky, through a verified representative, told Fast Company, “I’m ready to collaborate with the U.S. specialists, to show evidence and to confirm information.” Kozlovsky says the program he developed, LDCS, has the ability to “replace information on Twitter, Facebook, Google and leading U.S. media outlets.”
Such malicious software, also known as malware, has been modified and used by crafty hackers who seek to attack vulnerable computers around the world. Moreover, the Russian influence has been a major issue not only suspected of plaguing the election cycle but also has sought to attack everyday computer users, businesses, and infrastructure with Russian-based threats like CryptoLocker Ransomware.
Spear-Phishing campaigns also have previously surfaced, with a March 19, 2016, email being sent to John Podesta, the then-chairman of the Clinton presidential campaign. “There was a Google alert that there was some compromise in the system,” Podesta told CNN, which prompted Podesta to change his password “immediately” by clicking on a phony link.
“It actually got managed by my assistant, who checked with our cybersecurity guy,” Podesta stated. “And through a comedy of errors, I guess, he instructed her to go ahead and click on it and she did.”
The Russian attempts to undermine our democracy continue in a manner similar to how Russian cyber criminals were found to be responsible for the operation and development of schemes like CryptoLocker. These threats we are still at risk for today have inundated systems for nearly five years.
According to Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence, “There should be no doubt that Russia perceives that its past efforts have been successful and views the 2018 midterm U.S. elections as a potential target for Russian influence operations,” Coats also stated, “Frankly, the United States is under attack.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently attempted to downplay Russian involvement in the U.S. presidential election in an interview with NBC News’ Megyn Kelly. “Maybe they’re not even Russians,” he said. “Maybe they’re Ukrainians, Tatars, Jews, just with Russian citizenship. Even that needs to be checked. Maybe they have dual citizenship. Or maybe a green card. Maybe it was the Americans who paid them for this work. How do you know? I don’t know.”
With browser hacking and other methods of web search manipulation proliferating at a furious pace in the online criminal underworld, political agendas may prove to become the major beneficiary of these new and continually advancing virus and malware infections.
Julio Rivera is the editorial director for ReactionaryTimes.com, and has been published by Newsmax, Lifezette, The Hill, and The Washington Times.
