As cyber threats on the United States are mounting at an alarming rate, United States Attorney General Jefferson Sessions announced that he would create a task force to examine how his Justice Department can help the government thwart global cyber threats with greater efficiency than before.
Speaking to the media at the National Sheriffs Association Winter Conference in Washington, US, Jeff Sessions said that there is a high probability that Russia will try to influence the 2018 midterm elections of US to be held in November this year and may also interfere in the 2020 general elections, as it did so in 2016.
Sessions added that internet wisdom is becoming so sophisticated that it is offering amazing new tools to those interested in working, communicating and participating in the economy. But at the same time, some individuals/ groups having malicious intentions are seen using the tools of espionage, criminal and terrorist activities; with most of them being encouraged by enemy governments.
United States Justice Department is said to compose a cyber task force by July this year whose main objective will be to examine the use of the internet to spread the violent ideologies and recruit followers, how hackers breach private corporate and government data, and law enforcement challenges posed by strong encryption. The task force will include representatives from different branches of the Justice Department, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Last week, US Special Counsel Robert Muller said that Russia undermined US democracy in 2016 presidential elections and would try to do so again. He added that there is evidence that several Russians were found hatching criminal and espionage conspiracies through social media by boosting Republican Donald Trump and defaming the intentions and objectives of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
Perhaps, Jeff Sessions feels sorry for overseeing the Muller probe after failing to disclose meetings with Russian officials in last October. He was diplomatic on Donald Trump dismissing the Russian Cyber threat and believed that the probe of CIA on Russian Cyber Influence on US 2016 elections was partially true.
Note- As per the details available to our Cybersecurity Insiders, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, the guy who opposed Warrant-less Encryption will chair the task force.
