{"id":27926,"date":"2020-08-10T15:18:35","date_gmt":"2020-08-10T15:18:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/uncategorized\/2020\/08\/10\/us-cyber-command-is-using-unclassified-networks-to-fight-election-interference\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T18:32:47","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T18:32:47","slug":"us-cyber-command-is-using-unclassified-networks-to-fight-election-interference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/cyber\/2020\/08\/10\/us-cyber-command-is-using-unclassified-networks-to-fight-election-interference\/","title":{"rendered":"US Cyber Command is using unclassified networks to fight election interference"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 U.S. Cyber Command is using unclassified networks and publicly available communication platforms as it works to prevent foreign interference in the next presidential election, a CYBERCOM official has revealed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom a CYBERCOM standpoint, one of the big changes for us is we historically had been focused working inside [sensitive compartmented information facilities] SCIFs. One of the things we\u2019ve done in support of 2020 is we have organizations now that live outside SCIFs,\u201d Brig. Gen. William Hartman, the head of of U.S. Cyber Command\u2019s Cyber National Mission Force<\/a>, said during an Aug. 7 virtual panel hosted by DEFCON.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hartman said forces are now working on unclassified networks, Slack channels and other platforms to communicate with the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and private industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have really tried to adapt some of our behavior so we\u2019re able to, in real time, collaborate with our partners across government on a little different timescale than a traditional military one because I know most of you are probably not up at 5:30 in the morning,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Election security has not always been en enduring mission at the Department of Defense. But following foreign interference in the 2016 election \u2014 which saw social media influence operations with limited probing of election systems, but no evidence of actual vote or voter registration manipulation \u2014 the department has adopted election security as a focus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the DoD initially noted that it does not get involved in domestic issues unless specifically requested through legal mechanisms, which drew ire from some members of Congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou said that it\u2019s not Department of Defense responsibility,\u201d the late Sen. John McCain said to DoD officials during a 2017 hearing. \u201cSuppose if the Russians had been able to affect the outcome of the last election. Would that fall under the [responsibility] and authority to some degree of the Department of Defense if they\u2019re able to destroy the fundamental of democracy by changing the outcomes of elections?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am in fundamental disagreement with you about requirements of the Department of Defense to defend the fundamental of this nation, which is a free and fair election, which we all know the Russians tried to affect the outcome,\u201d McCain added. \u201cIt\u2019s the Department of Defense\u2019s job to defend this nation; that\u2019s why it\u2019s called the Department of Defense.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since those events, the department determined that election security is an enduring mission, with Cyber Command\u2019s chief, Gen. Paul Nakasone, saying in July that a safe 2020 election is his top priority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given the potential legal difficulties involved in operating domestically, the DoD was forced to think about how it can better serve the nation to defend it from pervasive cyberthreats emanating from abroad. As part of a new directive referred to as \u201cdefend forward,\u201d the DoD directed Cyber Command to use its unique authorities of operating against adversaries outside U.S. networks<\/a> to help thwart potential attacks before they reach U.S. networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\t