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Russians attacking vote counts

Slavister

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Anyone who knows Russian culture well enough, even going back to the USSR days, would know the saying that translated goes along the lines of “It’s not the people who vote that count. It’s the people who count the votes.” Pretty much everyone in Russia knows this. Even in USSR, people went to the polls and "voted" for the Communist Party leaders. Everyone knew, it does not matter - the counts would be rigged as needed.

For all the attacks already known, it's clear that the main target of any such attacks and most resources would be dedicated to attacking the vote COUNTING systems. That would be by far the most effective way to affect election outcome.

Some elements of this had surfaced already, but unfortunately, Trump administration will stall any such investigations and likely actively resist or shut them down. Still, there is no denying that the vote counting systems would be the primary targets. Everything else would be secondary.

Example 1
In an assessment of Russian cyberattacks released in January, intelligence agencies said Kremlin spy services had been collecting information on election processes, technology and equipment in the United States since early 2014.

Example 2:
The U.S. intelligence community developed substantial evidence that state websites or voter registration systems in seven states were compromised by Russian-backed covert operatives prior to the 2016 election

Example 3
The Department of Homeland Security was short on details when it said Friday that it had notified 21 states of Russian efforts to hack their election systems in 2016.

Example 4
Hackers are already aggressively probing ways in. Both Illinois and Arizona shut down their voter registration systems for a week last summer after they were penetrated. Just before the presidential election, hackers showed they could break into VR Systems, a Florida company that election officials in eight states, including California, rely on to keep track of who is eligible to cast a ballot on election day....

"Our elections systems are more connected than they seem," said Halderman, warning that hackers who find their way into the network of a poorly secured elections board through such phishing schemes could unleash malware with potential to corrupt not just registration files but even voting machines.

Example 5
Russian military hackers said to have infiltrated the U.S. election system would have had several potential avenues to influence U.S. elections — including by tampering with voting rolls, interference that could have had an important impact in swing states.
...
Online news site The Intercept said the report it obtained said Russian military intelligence executed a cyber attack on VR Systems, a Florida-based U.S. supplier of voting software.
...
The NSA report appears to be confirmation that Russian interference in the U.S. 2016 election went well beyond email leaks and information-centric attacks. It shows that the Russians, specifically the Russian General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate, was trying to attack the machinery of the election itself.

No, I have not seen yet any publicized and proven voting changes on record. But is that another shoe to drop? What chaos would that bring about? Trump administration has all the reasons in the world to keep THAT ONE under wraps!

What IS clear is that
- voting systems were SHOWN to be prone to hacking
- Russian attacks were SHOWN to be targeting them
- Russia would have those systems as their NUMBER 1 target to get the President it wanted
- Russians have succeeded in other, less important, attacks related to 2016 elections. Those that in all likelihood were NOT their primary targets and did not have as much resources dedicated to them.
 
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Anyone who knows Russian culture well enough, even going back to the USSR days, would know the saying that translated goes along the lines of “It’s not the people who vote that count. It’s the people who count the votes.” Pretty much everyone in Russia knows this. Even in USSR, people went to the polls and "voted" for the Communist Party leaders. Everyone knew, it does not matter - the counts would be rigged as needed.

For all the attacks already known, it's clear that the main target of any such attacks and most resources would be dedicated to attacking the vote COUNTING systems. That would be by far the most effective way to affect election outcome.

Some elements of this had surfaced already, but unfortunately, Trump administration will stall any such investigations and likely actively resist or shut them down. Still, there is no denying that the vote counting systems would be the primary targets. Everything else would be secondary.

Example 1


Example 2:


Example 3


Example 4


Example 5


No, I have not seen yet any publicized and proven voting changes on record. But is that another shoe to drop? What chaos would that bring about? Trump administration has all the reasons in the world to keep THAT ONE under wraps!

What IS clear is that
- voting systems were SHOWN to be prone to hacking
- Russian attacks were SHOWN to be targeting them
- Russia would have those systems as their NUMBER 1 target to get the President it wanted
- Russians have succeeded in other, less important, attacks related to 2016 elections. Those that in all likelihood were NOT their primary targets and did not have as much resources dedicated to them.

If our Election Geniuses cant/wont set up voting systems that cant be manipulated by enemies/criminals then we need new election geniuses...Which I pretty much decided awhile ago. .
 
Anyone who knows Russian culture well enough, even going back to the USSR days, would know the saying that translated goes along the lines of “It’s not the people who vote that count. It’s the people who count the votes.” Pretty much everyone in Russia knows this. Even in USSR, people went to the polls and "voted" for the Communist Party leaders. Everyone knew, it does not matter - the counts would be rigged as needed.

For all the attacks already known, it's clear that the main target of any such attacks and most resources would be dedicated to attacking the vote COUNTING systems. That would be by far the most effective way to affect election outcome.

Some elements of this had surfaced already, but unfortunately, Trump administration will stall any such investigations and likely actively resist or shut them down. Still, there is no denying that the vote counting systems would be the primary targets. Everything else would be secondary.

Example 1


Example 2:


Example 3


Example 4


Example 5


No, I have not seen yet any publicized and proven voting changes on record. But is that another shoe to drop? What chaos would that bring about? Trump administration has all the reasons in the world to keep THAT ONE under wraps!

What IS clear is that
- voting systems were SHOWN to be prone to hacking
- Russian attacks were SHOWN to be targeting them
- Russia would have those systems as their NUMBER 1 target to get the President it wanted
- Russians have succeeded in other, less important, attacks related to 2016 elections. Those that in all likelihood were NOT their primary targets and did not have as much resources dedicated to them.

The OP is nothing more than speculation.

Democrats fielded the worst candidate for president in history, and she lost. Even Howdy Doody could have beaten her. That's all there is to it.
 
The OP is nothing more than speculation.

Democrats fielded the worst candidate for president in history, and she lost. Even Howdy Doody could have beaten her. That's all there is to it.

Howdy Doody did beat her....
 
The OP is nothing more than speculation.

Yes, the situation is analogous to having a 3rd world Bank with safety deposit boxes.
- We know that very sophisticated thieves were inside the bank trying to get into the safety deposit boxes.
- We know the safety deposit boxes had different locking mechanisms (i.e. different voting systems), and many were EASY to open.
- We know that new Bank Administration (Trump Administration) is very sleazy, lies all the time, greedy, and displays no moral / ethical standards.
- We know Bank Administration has many business connections with the thieves.
- We know that if theft occurred, the administration directly benefited from it.
- We know if theft is discovered, the Administration could get removed.
So the Bank administration has all the reasons in the world to hinder any kind of investigation. And finally, unfortunately, owners for the safety deposit boxes have no good / easy way of verifying their contents are still there (i.e. it's very hard to prove that votes got changed).

So yes, you can see how it's not a big stretch of imagination to speculate there was a likely theft that actually DID happen, even if there is no (publically known) proof just yet (or ever)...
 
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Yes, the situation is analogous to having a 3rd world Bank with safety deposit boxes.
- We know that very sophisticated thieves were inside the bank trying to get into the safety deposit boxes.
- We know the safety deposit boxes had different locking mechanisms (i.e. different voting systems), and many were EASY to open.
- We know that new Bank Administration (Trump Administration) is very sleazy, lies all the time, greedy, and displays no moral / ethical standards.
- We know Bank Administration has many business connections with the thieves.
- We know that if theft occurred, the administration directly benefited from it.
- We know if theft is discovered, the Administration could get removed.
So the Bank administration has all the reasons in the world to hinder any kind of investigation. And finally, unfortunately, owners for the safety deposit boxes have no good / easy way of verifying their contents are still there (i.e. it's very hard to prove that votes got changed).

So yes, you can see how it's not a big stretch of imagination to speculate there was a likely theft that actually DID happen, even if there is no (publically known) proof just yet (or ever)...

Convoluted speculation, but still speculation.
 
Convoluted speculation, but still speculation.

Just don't be surprised when this is later "discovered". Everything points to it.
 
This thread is quite old now and I don't think we may ever know for sure the extent of the hacking but definitely the occasional news like from Mueller report is not surprising

Mueller Report Draws Attention To Russian Election Interference In Florida : NPR
In particular, the report said, "We understand the FBI believes that this operation enabled [Russian military intelligence] to gain access to the network of at least one Florida county government" during the 2016 campaign.
...
The special counsel's report also said that Russian intelligence had installed malware on the vendor's network, something VR Systems denies.
...
VR Systems also was the supplier of electronic poll books that malfunctioned on Election Day in Durham County, N.C., in 2016. The state believes user error by election and poll workers was responsible but says it has not definitively determined the cause.
...
The Mueller report notes another successful breach in the summer of 2016, involving Illinois' voter registration system.
...
some cybersecurity experts have raised the possibility that hackers planted malicious software that remains undetected.


Of course Russian efforts continue and will continue...

Russian Hackers Have Attacked Several 2018 Campaigns, Microsoft Says | Fortune
A group of hackers believed to be tied to Russia’s military have launched spear-phishing campaigns against at least three candidates running for election in 2018, a Microsoft executive said Thursday.

Now that Mueller is done, I have doubts Trump administration will be spearheading more investigations into the extent to which Russians hacked the voter systems and counting systems to benefit Trump...

Hackers do NOT want to leave a trace after making their changes. The examples we see above are just the attempts that FAILED in that we found out about them. How many attempts did NOT fail?
 
As time goes on, even more evidence is popping up. Just like predicted in the OP a couple years ago...

Election systems in all 50 states were targeted by Russia in 2016

The Senate Intelligence Committee concluded Thursday that election systems in all 50 states were targeted by Russia in 2016, an effort more far-reaching than previously acknowledged and one largely undetected by the states and federal officials at the time.
...
While the report praised the steps the agencies have since taken to assist in securing elections, the committee found that concerns about aging voting equipment remain.
...
The states say they do not have the money to conduct a replacement program by November 2020.
 
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