A conservative commentator and political consultant suggests that those who fall for the political ruse perpetrated by Russia via fake websites are really the ones who are guilty of colluding with America’s enemy.
Russia is still trying to dupe Americans and sow chaos, according to Microsoft, which claims to have successfully stopped the latest effort. The high-tech company says the Russians allegedly set up several fake websites that could be mistaken for those belonging to the conservative Hudson Institute, the International Republican Institute, the U.S. Senate, and even Microsoft itself. Once at these websites, the hackers had traps set up to capture passwords and other credentials.
“This activity is most fundamentally focused on disrupting democracy,” Microsoft president and chief legal officer Brad Smith told The Associated Press.
Political analyst Jeff Crank says this should come as no surprise. “… The Russians, they are our enemies. Putin’s a former KGB agent – he’s trying to sow discontent in America,” he tells OneNewsNow.
Jeff Crank
The Microsoft report linked the hackers to the Russian unit formerly known as GRU, the Russian Military Intelligence Service.
Crank, who hosts a weekly radio program in Colorado, says the Russians seem to be equal opportunity troublemakers.
“We knew that through the election,” he continues, “that they were trying to sow liberal discontent and conservative discontent – and groups like Antifa and other groups like that, they fall right for it. They’re willing participants.
“… If there’s anybody colluding with the Russians, wouldn’t it be the people who are willingly going out there and following up on this divisiveness that the Russians are trying to sow?” he asks.
But politics aside, Crank notes, America’s national security needs to catch up to the danger.
“I think this is a whole new area of warfare that we’re seeing – and it’s not just the Russians,” he states. “The Chinese are doing it, we saw the North Koreans hack into Sony Pictures. I think we’re a little bit behind the curve on fighting this.”
Russian officials have dismissed Microsoft’s claims as unfounded, citing a lack of detail on the hacking.
