Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

US federal agencies have 'all hands on deck' to protect election from cyber attacks

'There is maybe a one in three chance of this happening but it's not insignificant,' says Admiral James Stavridis

Matt Payton
Tuesday 08 November 2016 18:29 EST
Comments
National Security Agency (NSA) headquarters building in Fort Meade, Maryland - staff at the agency will be working extra hours during the election
National Security Agency (NSA) headquarters building in Fort Meade, Maryland - staff at the agency will be working extra hours during the election (Reuters)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The US Government have called for "all hands to the deck" to fight off any potential cyber attack during the election.

Cyber defence departments at the FBI, CIA, NSA and Homeland Security are all working overtime to prevent any interference in the election of the 45th President, reports NBC News.

Senior intelligence officials have said federal agencies are taking this unprecedented step after a number of high profile hacks during the election.

An official told NBC: “It's all hands on deck. There is a whole-of-government effort in cyber around the election.”

The US Government has accused Russia of using cyber techniques to affect the election including the hacking of Democratic Party email accounts, leaking information to embarrass Hillary Clinton.

Former Nato commander Admiral James Stavridis said he held serious concerns hackers back by Putin's government could dump false documents in last minute attempt to smear candidates and even launch a cyber attack on the US electrical power grid.

He said: "There is maybe a one in three chance of this happening but it's not insignificant."

Clinton and Trump Clash Over Cyber-Attacks, ISIS

Russian Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov publicly refuted any suggestion of underhand involvement in the US election

Mr Peskov said: "We have neither a right nor an intention to interfere in the US election process.

"There are a lot of problems even without our interference."

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in