 The Plot to Hack America | |
| Author | Malcolm Nance Spencer Ackerman (foreword) |
|---|---|
| Audio read by | Gregory Itzin |
| Original title | The Plot to Hack America: How Putin's Cyberspies and WikiLeaks Tried to Steal the 2016 Election |
| Cover artist | Brian Peterson |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. elections |
| Publisher | Skyhorse Publishing |
Publication date | October 10, 2016 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 216 |
| ISBN | 978-1-5107-3468-5 (Hardcover) |
| OCLC | 987592653 |
| Preceded by | Defeating ISIS |
| Followed by | Hacking ISIS |
| Website | Official website |
| [1][2] | |
The Plot to Hack America: How Putin's Cyberspies and WikiLeaks Tried to Steal the 2016 Election is a non-fiction book byMalcolm Nance about theRussian interference in the 2016 United States elections. It was published in paperback,audiobook, ande-book formats in 2016 bySkyhorse Publishing. A second edition was also published the same year, and a third edition in 2017. Nance researchedRussian intelligence, working as a Russianinterpreter and studyingKGB history.[1][3]
Nance described theblack propaganda warfare known asactive measures byRT (Russia Today) andSputnik News. He recountsVladimir Putin's KGB rise, and details the myriadlinks between Trump associates and Russian officials. Nance concludes that Putin managed thecyberattack by hacker groupsCozy Bear andFancy Bear.[1][4]
The Wall Street Journal placed the book in its list of "Best-Selling Books" for the week of February 19, 2017, at seventh place in the category "Nonfiction E-Books".[5]New York Journal of Books called it "an essential primer for anyone wanting to be fully informed about the unprecedented events surrounding the 2016 U.S. presidential election."[1]Napa Valley Register described Nance's work as "the best book on the subject".[6]The Huffington Post remarked Putin had played aGame of Thrones with the election.[7]Newsweek wrote that the problem with disinformation tactics is that by the time they are debunked, the public has already consumed the falsehoods.[8]
The book is dedicated to U.S. Army officerHumayun Khan and begins with a foreword bySpencer Ackerman. Nance detailsRussian interference in the 2016 U.S. elections and describes how, in March 2016,Democratic National Committee (DNC) servers werehacked by someone seekingopposition research onDonald Trump. Nance learnt of a hacker,Guccifer 2.0, who would release hacked DNC materials. Nance gives context including Trump's motivations to run for president after being made fun of at the 2011White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, his criticism ofBarack Obama, and his entry into the 2016 race for the White House.[1][4][9]
Nance discussesblack propaganda techniques used by the Russian Federation, and characterizesRT (formerly Russia Today) andSputnik News as agencies ofdisinformation. He asserts that PresidentVladimir Putin was intimately involved in the Russian intelligence operation to elect Trump, directing the entire covert operation himself.[1][4]
In "Trump's Agents, Putin's Assets", Nance delves further intolinks between Trump associates and Russian officials, asserting that multiple agents of Trump wereassets for Putin, providing access to Trump. Nance identifies Putin's strategy for electing Trump as American president, referred to as "Operation Lucky-7: The Kremlin Plan to Elect a President", and describes this as a multitask effort involving hacking into the DNC to acquire the personal information of their members, as well as to seek out compromising material known askompromat.[1][4]
"Battles of the CYBER BEARS" describes the two hacker entities tied to Russian intelligence:Cozy Bear andFancy Bear. Cozy Bear is believed to be linked to the RussianFederal Security Service (FSB) orForeign Intelligence Service (SVR), while Fancy Bear is associated with Russian military intelligence agencyGRU. Nance describes how Russian intelligence attempted to make their releases of leaked DNC emails appear deniable. In "WikiLeaks: Russia's Intelligence Laundromat", he likens use of thewhistleblower websiteWikiLeaks tomoney laundering. Nance asserts WikiLeaks willingly collaborated in the operation. "When CYBER BEARS Attack" describes the impact ofPodesta emails andDNC email leaks on the2016 Clinton campaign.[1][4]
Finally, in "Cyberwar to Defend Democracy", Nance reiterates that the U.S. was the target ofcyberwarfare by Russian intelligence agencies GRU and FSB, as directly ordered by Putin. Nance writes that Russia succeeded in casting doubt of citizens in the strength of U.S. democracy. He posits that, were the U.S. populace at large to internalize future acts of cyberwarfare as dangerous attempts to subvert daily life, they could lead to actual war itself.[1][4]
Before beginning research forThe Plot to Hack America, Nance gainedcounter-intelligence experience as aU.S. NavySenior Chief Petty Officer innaval cryptology,[10][11][12] where he served from 1981 to 2001.[2][13] He garnered expertise within the fields of intelligence and counterterrorism.[3][14][15] The author learned aboutRussian history as aninterpreter forRussian, and began working in the intelligence field through research into thehistory of the Soviet Union and its spying agency theKGB.[1] He devoted years of research to analyzingforeign relations of Russia.[1]
Prior to analyzing the Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. elections, Nance's background in counter-intelligence analysis included management of athink tank called Terror Asymmetrics Project on Strategy, Tactics and Radical Ideologies, consisting ofCentral Intelligence Agency and military intelligence officers with direct prior field experience.[13][15] Nance's books oncounter-terrorism includeAn End to al-Qaeda,[16]Terrorist Recognition Handbook,[17]The Terrorists of Iraq,[18]Defeating ISIS,[19] andHacking ISIS.[20]
Nance began work onThe Plot to Hack America incidentally, while already engaged in writingHacking ISIS. During the course of research forHacking ISIS, he discovered computer hacking of Germany's legislative body, theBundestag, and French television stationTV5Monde. At the time, the hacks were thought to be caused by ISIS, but instead they were traced back to Russian hacking group, the Cyber Bears. Nance knew this was a Russian intelligence GRU operated group, and realized the attribution to ISIS was afalse flag operation to throw investigators off the trail. This gave Nance prior knowledge of Russian intelligence tactics, through the Cyber Bears, to infiltrate servers for purposes of disrupting government in the case of Germany, and injecting propaganda in the case of France. After the2016 hack on the DNC, it was apparent to Nance that the identical foreign agency had carried out the attack, GRU. Nance's suspicions were borne out as accurate when security firmCrowdStrike determined Cozy Bear and Fancy Bear were behind the attack. Nance saw this as akin to theWatergate scandal, albeit a virtual attack instead of a physical break-in to Democratic facilities.[2]
Nance toldC-SPAN that for the majority of his working life he has identified as a member of the U.S. Republican Party, describing himself as being from the "Colin Powell School of Republicanism", andThe Plot to Hack America was written out of a desire as an intelligence expert to document the background behind the attack by a foreign power on U.S. democratic institutions. Nance realized the gravity of the attack because he considered that such an operation must have been sanctioned and managed by formerKGB officer Vladimir Putin himself. Nance is a member of the board of directors for theInternational Spy Museum inWashington, D.C. Through this work at the museum, Nance befriended former KGB generalOleg Kalugin, who advised him "once KGB always KGB". Nance considered that Putin's objectives would not have been simply to harmHillary Clinton but actually to attempt to achieve the ascendancy ofDonald Trump to U.S. president.[2]
The Plot to Hack America was first published in an online format on September 23, 2016, the same dayUnited States Intelligence Community assessments aboutRussian interference in the 2016 United States elections were delivered to PresidentBarack Obama.[6] The appendix to the book notes this timing, and points out, "Many of the conclusions that were included in the consensus opinion of the principal three intelligence agencies, the NSA, the CIA, and the FBI, are identical toThe Plot to Hack America".[6] Its first paperback format was published on October 10, 2016.[4][21] A second edition was released the same year,[22] in addition to aneBook format.[23] Another edition was published in 2017,[24] along with anaudiobook narrated byGregory Itzin.[25] The author was the subject ofhecklers when he appeared at an event to discuss his work at Books & Books in Miami, Florida in 2017.[26]
The book was a commercial success, andThe Wall Street Journal placedThe Plot to Hack America in its list of "Best-Selling Books" for the week of February 19, 2017, at 7th place in the category "NonFiction E-Books".[5] The book was included for reading in a course on political science atPasadena City College.[27] In a review for theNew York Journal of Books, Michael Lipkin was effusive, writing: "Malcolm Nance'sThe Plot to Hack America is an essential primer for anyone wanting to be fully informed about the unprecedented events surrounding the 2016 U.S. presidential election."[1] Lipkin wrote of the author's expertise on the subject matter: "He is a patriot and a highly experienced and respected intelligence expert bringing to bear his own deep and extensive knowledge and conclusions in perhaps one of the most important developments in American history."[1] Lawrence Swaim gave Nance's work a favorable reception, in a book review for theNapa Valley Register.[6] He wrote, "It's a quick read, and at present easily the best book on the subject."[6] Swaim recommended resources at the back of the book, writing, "But what's really killer about the Nance book is the appendix, which contains extremely revealing assessments made by American intelligence agencies, all presented in an unclassified format."[6]
Kenneth J. Bernstein wrote forDaily Kos "to convince you to read this important book", he echoed the warning in its conclusion about the dangers posed by cyberwarfare.[28] Bernstein wrote that the book's argumentation was strengthened because, "Every single assertion Nance offers is backed by material ... clearly documented in end notes".[28] Bernstein wrote favorably in addition of the book's foreword byThe Guardian editor for national security,Spencer Ackerman.[28] Italian language newspaperLa Stampa called the book "molto bello".[29] Writing forThe Independent, Andy Martin, commented, "I suppose the only weak spot in the subtitle is the word 'tried'. Surely they did more than 'try'?"[30]
Maclean's wrote thatThe Plot to Hack America, "was prescient about Russia's meddling in the 2016 U.S. election."[9]Brian Lamb, founder and retired CEO ofC-SPAN, commented that the book's titled choice seemed political in nature.[2]Strategic Finance noted "Nance focuses on a new hybrid cyber warfare, Kompromat, which uses cyber assets", as a way to attack political enemies.[31]TechGenix journalist Michael Adams wrote that Nance provides an in-depth analysis of an issue characterized by multiple commentators as a national controversy rivalling theWatergate scandal.[32] Adams called the book an engaging tale of espionage including context on Russian intelligence and the background of Vladimir Putin in theKGB.[32]Voice of America commented that Nance capably "outlined his evidence" in the book about his fears of Russian foreign manipulation in the 2016 election.[33] Bob Burnett wrote forThe Huffington Post that Nance described aGame of Thrones stratagem byVladimir Putin, using Donald Trump as a tool to embarrassHillary Clinton andBarack Obama.[7] Burnett observed Nance posited Trump was won over by Putin through a play to Trump's avarice and narcissism.[7] Jeff SteinNewsweek wrote of the power of thedisinformation tactics described in Nance's book: "The genius of the technique is that the correction takes days, or weeks, to catch up to the fiction. By then, gullible masses have digested the fabrications as truth."[8]
AfterThe Plot to Hack America was published in October 2016, Nance was interviewed in April 2017 onC-SPAN about his book, and the impact of media operations on American society. He argued thatRussia Today's actions back up the notion thatblack propaganda operations are effective, referencing their impact ondisinformation operations. Nance cited research by theSenate Intelligence Committee,House Intelligence Committee, andDirector of National Intelligence on Russia Today's methods of publishing propaganda by propagatingfake news. He traced a larger problem ofecho chambers, wherein a false invented story bySputnik News traveled through bloggers toBreitbart News, became believed as factual byTrump Administration officials, and then were eventuallyre-reported on again by Russia Today, falsely stating they were simply reporting events created by the White House itself.[2]
The author recalled to C-SPAN the days of theSoviet Union where the Soviet intelligence operation practice was to infiltrate and manage reporting agencies of theCommunist Party in addition to political figures from both the right and left perspectives, in order to denigrate U.S. democratic interests. Nance warned that Russia under control of Vladimir Putin was motivated by the identical initiative, armed with greater tools and funding than the Soviet Union of the past. He lamented that prior to Putin's appointment asPrime Minister of Russia byBoris Yeltsin, the country was taking steps towards democracy. Nance traced Putin's rise with the descent of democracy in Russia in favor of anoligarchy ruling class of wealthy individuals managing anautocratic society. Nance said U.S. citizens become agents of Russia through employ of Russia Today due to naïveté about the nature of Russian propaganda operations geared to harm U.S. values ofcivil liberties.[2]
Nance placed utilization of propaganda by Russian intelligence agencies through Russia Today and other outlets includingsocial media as part of a larger effort at globalcyberwarfare. He characterized this a form ofhybrid warfare blending traditional propaganda with computer tools and subversion of media organizations. As a case study he citedAleksandr Dugin, aRussian neofascist political activist with views favored by Putin, whosetweets expound perspectives that U.S. democratic institutions were not successful.[2]
Malcolm Nance's fascinating book 'The Plot to Hack America—How Putin's Cyberspies and Wikileaks Tried to Steal the 2016 Election.' It's a quick read, and at present easily the best book on the subject.
un libro molto bello, The Plot to Hack America
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