Congress Seeks To Outlaw Cyber Intel Sharing With Russia (onthewire.io)

Trailrunner7 shares a report from On the Wire: A group of House Democrats has introduced a bill that would formalize a policy of the United States not sharing cyber intelligence with Russia. The proposed law is a direct response to comments President Donald Trump made earlier this week after he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. After the meeting, Trump said on Twitter that he and Putin had discussed forming an "impenetrable Cyber Security unit" to prevent future attacks, including election hacking. The idea was roundly criticized by security and foreign policy experts and within a few hours Trump walked it back, saying it was just an idea and couldn't actually happen. But some legislators are not taking the idea of information sharing with Russia as a hypothetical. On Wednesday, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), and Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) introduced the No Cyber Cooperation With Russia Act to ensure that the U.S. doesn't hand over any cybersecurity intelligence on attacks or vulnerabilities to Moscow. Recent attacks such as the NotPetya malware outbreak have been linked to Russia, as have the various attacks surrounding the 2016 presidential election. "When the Russians get their hands on cyber intelligence, they exploit it -- as they did last month with the NotPetya malware attack targeting Ukraine and the West. It is a sad state of affairs when Congress needs to prohibit this type of information sharing with an adversary, but since we apparently do, I am proud to introduce the No Cyber Cooperation with Russia Act with my friends Brendan Boyle and Ruben Gallego. I urge my colleagues across the aisle to join us in sending a clear message that Congress will not stand for this proposal to undermine U.S. national security," Lieu said in a statement.

Comments

Oh please! Really?

[Anonymous Coward]

Are people actually falling for this shit? And you thought Trump was the bottom of the barrel? You poor souls!

Re: Oh please! Really?

[Plus1Entropy]

On the one hand: France (oldest ally), the UK (special relationship), and Canada (friend with benefits), all democracies and members of NATO.

On the other hand: Russia, a major geopolitical adversary for most of the last century, a kleptocratic dictatorship run by an ex-KGB lieutenant who fiercely and violently crushes any non-token political opposition.

Can't see why we'd favor one over the other.

Re: Oh please! Really?

[Anonymous Coward]

George Bush didn't asasanate any critical journalists. Putin does.

Re: Oh please! Really?

[shaitand]

That's a bold claim. What makes you assume George Bush's will hasn't resulted in at least one of his staff taking out a journalist before? In the US you have to be more subtle than Russia but plausible deniability is easy. You have policies against such and then set standards that are impossible to meet without violating those policies. You simultaneously cultivate the most despicable practices while having absolute deniability and cultivate the most discrete execution of those policies because you'll act on any violation you can't pretend not to have noticed. Putin can just order what he wants.

But then I'm not actually in Russia, I'm in the US, if nothing the corruption and bias in the media has become painstakingly obvious and overt since at least the Sanders Clinton primary showdown so it is unlikely the news we get with regard to Russia is accurate and what we "know" about Russia is likely largely propaganda.

Re: Oh please! Really?

[fatwilbur]

"the president treasonously colludes with foreign powers" - Ironic that you mention cognitive dissonance then post this. Do you know what treason means? Isn't it the job of the president to have discussions with foreign nations? Can you point to any evidence of wrongdoing in any discussion? Might want to take a step back and reconsider that cognitive dissonance comment.

Re:I see a problem with this?

[guises]

Probably not. This is a law with three goals: preventing Trump from doing something specific, calling attention to the fact that Trump wanted to do this, and perhaps creating a law for Trump to break (and thus be more easily removed from office). In other words, this is all about Trump and will likely be written so as to effect the rest of us not at all.

No worry

[slapout]

"And the 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back. Because the Cold War has been over for 20 years. " Barack Obama