That's an excuse; not an apology. Maybe you shouldn't be so quick to criticize my country. You obviously have an axe to grind.
Bart doesn't owe you an apology...you actually owe him one for accusing him of doing something that he didn't do. He linked to a Reuters report. It was, what it was. He didn't make anything up and he didn't, as far as I can see, engage in "creating the innuendo and fake news". Wow, you sure seem on edge...what, don't you like finding out that Russia actually
WAS actively trying to hack into the state elections?
Here, I'll copy the entire Reuters report including the Democratic Senator's complaints about not naming the states affected...
Russian hackers targeted 21 U.S. states' election systems in last year's presidential race, a Department of Homeland Security official told Congress on Wednesday.
Jeanette Manfra, the department's acting deputy undersecretary of cyber security, would not identify which states had been targeted, citing confidentiality agreements. She reiterated that there was no evidence that any actual votes were manipulated.
"As of right now, we have evidence that election-related systems in 21 states were targeted," Manfra told the Senate Intelligence Committee, which investigating Russia's meddling in the 2016 presidential election. Systems were breached in a smaller number of states, she said, but did not give a specific figure.
Department officials had said about 20 states had been probed by hackers working on behalf of the Russian government, but recent news media reports had suggested the number could have been far higher.
Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate panel, expressed frustration at Manfra's refusal to identify which states had been targeted.
"I just fundamentally disagree," he said.
Warner on Tuesday sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly asking the agency to disclose more information about hacking attempts on state and local election systems.
Arizona and Illinois last year confirmed that hackers had targeted their voter registration systems.
U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that the Kremlin orchestrated a wide-ranging influence operation that included email hacking and online propaganda in order to discredit Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and help Donald Trump, a Republican, win the White House.
Manfra and other officials testifying on Wednesday reiterated that U.S. elections are resilient to hacking in part because they are decentralized and largely operated on the state and local level.
Senator Angus King, an independent from Maine who caucuses with the Democrats, expressed skepticism at that assertion, saying only a small amount of votes in key battleground states would need to be altered to tip the scales of an election.
"A sophisticated actor could hack an election simply by focusing on certain counties," King said. "I don't think it works just to say it’s a big system and diversity will protect us."
Russia has repeatedly denied responsibility for any cyber attacks during the U.S. presidential election. Trump has inconsistently said Russia may or may not have been responsible for the hacking but has dismissed allegations that his associates colluded with Moscow as "fake news."
And, since this issue seems so important to you, here's another view from across the pond:
Sinister portrait of Russia cyberattacks emerges at U.S. Congress hearingA sinister portrait of Russia’s cyberattacks on the U.S. emerged Wednesday as current and former U.S. officials told Congress Moscow stockpiled stolen information and selectively disseminated it during the 2016 presidential campaign to undermine the American political process.
The Russians “used fake news and propaganda and they also used online amplifiers to spread the information to as many people as possible,” Bill Priestap, the FBI’s top counterintelligence official, told the Senate Intelligence committee.
While he said the Russians had conducted covert operations targeting past American elections, the internet “has allowed Russia to do so much more” than before. But, he added, the “scale and aggressiveness” was different this time, with the primary goal being to sow discord and aid the candidacy of Republican Donald Trump, the eventual winner.
Russia’s actions did not change the final election count, they said, but warned that Moscow’s efforts will likely continue.
“I believe the Russians will absolutely try to continue to conduct influence operations in the U.S.,” which will include cyberattacks, Priestap said.
Jeanette Manfra, Homeland Security undersecretary for cybersecurity, said there is evidence that 21 state election systems were targeted, but she told the Senate intelligence committee she couldn’t disclose the identities of the states because that was up to the states. Last September, DHS told The Associated Press that hackers believed to be Russian agents had targeted voter registration systems in more than 20 states.
There, have we aired this issue out enough yet?
And speaking about the importance of this issue, does it strike anybody else that it would be useful to actually have a permanent vs acting deputy under secretary for cybersecurity at DHS’ National Protection & Programs Directorate (NPPD)? Seems the Trumpster is having issues with that:
Trump’s empty administration: What’s behind the high number of vacant government jobsBut hey, there's a bright spot!
Trump hires the wedding planner -- to oversee NY federal housing program?(CNN)According to a report in the New York Daily News, Donald Trump has appointed the spectacularly unqualified Lynne Patton to run the Region II office of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which covers New York and New Jersey -- thus confirming the Trump administration's haphazard treatment of the problems facing American cities.
Patton, who has been an event planner and personal aide to members of the Trump family (she planned Eric Trump's wedding), has no experience in housing or urban development. She will now be tasked with coordinating the flow of billions of federal dollars into New York City, Newark, Trenton and other troubled urban centers.
#MAGA HIRE YOUR FRIENDS FOR JOBS THEY CAN'T DO!!!#GOTCHATRUMP