China targeting U.S. election infrastructure -O'Brien
China targeting U.S. election infrastructure -O'Brien
[NFA] After U.S. counterintelligence said Russia was actively working to undermine Democratic candidate Joe Biden ahead of the presidential election, President Donald Trump's national security adviser said China was trying to actively interfere as well.
This report produced by Zachary Goelman.
The U.S. national security adviser, Robert O'Brien on Sunday suggested Chinese-linked actors may have targeted U.S. election infrastructure ahead of the November presidential contest.
"China, like Russia, like Iran, have engaged in cyberattacks and phishing and that sort of thing with respect to our election infrastructure, with respect to websites, and that sort of thing.
We're aware of it.
And we're taking steps to counter it.
Whether it's China, or Russia, or Iran, we're not going to put up with it." He said hackers had targeted U.S. government websites, but did not specify what damage the cyberattacks had done, if any.
O'Brien suggested the U.S. election faced an array of malicious actors, including Russia, China and Iran.
His comments on CBS New's Face the Nation come in the wake of a U.S. counterintelligence assessment that China preferred President Donald Trump lose his bid for re-election.
"The Chinese don't want the president re-elected.
He's been tougher on China than any president in history." That assessment, from director William Evanina of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, last week said that while Beijing preferred Trump lose, Russia was actively using a range of measures to "denigrate" the Democratic candidate, Joe Biden.
U.S. intelligence concluded that Russia interfered in 2016 to swing the election toward Trump, by stealing and leaking e-mails damaging to Democrat Hillary Clinton, and by spreading misinformation on social media.
Russia denies interfering in American politics.
Trump has long downplayed and denied Russian efforts to help him win, and contradicted even the most recent assessment from his own administration.
"I think that the last person Russia wants to see in office is Donald Trump.
I don't care what anybody says." Evanina said this time it appeared pro-Russian actors were trying to push unsubstantiated claims that Biden was tied to corruption in Ukraine.
Asked what the U.S. was doing to counter the latest Russian meddling, O'Brien said no administration had been tougher on Moscow, but appeared to suggest there was little more the U.S. could do.
