The Atlantic

What Did The Senate Hearing Reveal About Russian Hacking?

A Q&A with cybersecurity expert Michael Sulmeyer on today’s Armed Services Committee hearing and the intelligence community’s response to foreign interference
Source: Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

Did Russian hacking influence the 2016 elections? If so,what motivated it? Those two questions have sparked the biggest political debate since Donald Trump was elected president in November, and as a new session of Congress starts and Trump takes offices in just a few weeks, the questions still linger. The president-elect, intelligence agencies, high-ranking officials in both parties, and even Julian Assange have all been embroiled in the debate.

Congress hoped to take one step closer to resolving those questions on Thursday with a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, chaired by Arizona Senator John McCain. James Clapper, the director of national intelligence; Admiral Mike Rogers, the head of the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command; and Marcel Lettre, the undersecretary of defense for intelligence testified before the committee. While some of their answers were revealing, most promised more details forthcoming—especially on the subject of Russian involvement—in private briefings and a public

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from The Atlantic

The Atlantic8 min readAmerican Government
The Most Consequential Recent First Lady
This article was featured in the One Story to Read Today newsletter. Sign up for it here. The most consequential first lady of modern times was Melania Trump. I know, I know. We are supposed to believe it was Hillary Clinton, with her unbaked cookies
The Atlantic3 min readCrime & Violence
Donald Trump’s ‘Fraudulent Ways’ Cost Him $355 Million
A New York judge fined Donald Trump $355 million today, finding “overwhelming evidence” that he and his lieutenants at the Trump Organization made false statements “with the intent to defraud.” Justice Arthur Engoron’s ruling in the civil fraud case
The Atlantic7 min readAmerican Government
The Americans Who Need Chaos
This is Work in Progress, a newsletter about work, technology, and how to solve some of America’s biggest problems. Sign up here. Several years ago, the political scientist Michael Bang Petersen, who is based in Denmark, wanted to understand why peop

Related Books & Audiobooks