Russia Not Hacking Election on 'Scale and Scope' of '16: Nielsen

But DHS secretary says she's seeing 'persistent Russian efforts' to 'sow discord'
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 15, 2018 6:17 AM CDT
Russia Not Hacking Election on 'Scale and Scope' of '16: Nielsen
Computer mouse pads with Secure the Vote logo on them are seen on a vendor's table at a convention of state secretaries of state Saturday, July 14, 2018, in Philadelphia.   (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

There are no signs Russia is targeting the 2018 midterm elections for cyberattacks with the "scale and scope" it used in 2016, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen told a conference of state secretaries of state and other high-ranking election officials on Saturday. She added, however, that US intelligence officials are seeing "persistent Russian efforts using social media, sympathetic spokespeople and other fronts to sow discord and divisiveness amongst the American people, though not necessarily focused on specific politicians or political campaigns," reports Fox News. Nielsen's comments come sandwiched between the Friday indictments of 12 Russians on election-hacking charges, and the meeting between her boss, President Trump, and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday. (More Kirstjen Nielsen stories.)

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