Much broader...

Sen. Warner: Russian cyberattacks 'much broader than has been reported'

By NEGASSI TESFAMICHAEL

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Russian cyberattacks on U.S. election systems “is much broader than has been reported so far,” according to USA Today.

The Virginia senator’s comments follow a top-secret intelligence report leaked to The Intercept, which detailed Russian hacking efforts during the 2016 presidential campaign.

The intelligence report noted that Russian military intelligence “likely attempted to launch a voter-registration themed spear-phishing campaign targeting U.S. local government organizations.”

The senator said these efforts did not change voting outcomes, but is much broader than is known publicly.

The Kremlin on Tuesday denied that the Russian government was involved in voting-related cyberattacks.

Warner is calling on intelligence agencies to declassify the names of states affected so they can beef up their electoral systems before the 2018 midterms, warning that “none of these actions from the Russians stopped on Election Day.”

The Department of Justice announced charges Monday against Reality Leigh Winner, a 25-year-old federal contractor with a top-secret security clearance, for leaking classified information to an online media outlet, the same day The Intercept published the National Security Agency report detailing Russian involvement.

“Whoever’s the leaker should be pursued to the full extent of the law,” Warner said.