More evidence of Moscow meddling

– A top secret US report showing that hackers from Russian military intelligence tried repeatedly to break into US voting systems before last year’s presidential election has raised new alarms about the extent of Moscow’s meddling.

But the alleged leak of the National Security Agency document by one of the tens of thousands of private contractors to US spy agencies, barely one month after the report was written, became the newest embarrassment for the US intelligence community.

Keen to crack down on a flood of leaks, almost immediately after the report was published, the Trump administration announced the arrest of intelligence contractor Reality Leigh Winner, 25, on charges of violating the espionage act.

“Releasing classified material without authorisation threatens our nation’s security and undermines public faith in government. People who are trusted with classified information and pledge to protect it must be held accountable when they violate that obligation,” Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said in a statement.

The NSA report was published on Monday by The Intercept, an online news website which focuses on national security issues.

It depicted a hacking operation tied to Moscow’s GRU intelligence directorate that targeted private US companies providing voter registration services and equipment to local governments. – AFP