Homeland Security Secretary Says Putin Meddled in Trump's Election

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said Tuesday that U.S. spy agencies were “right” that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

“It was the Russians,” Nielsen said at the Department of Homeland Security National Cybersecurity Summit in New York. “Any attempt to interfere in our elections is a direct attack against our democracy. American will not tolerate this meddling.”

President Donald Trump stirred an uproar with comments at his Helsinki summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin casting doubt on U.S intelligence findings that Russia was behind cyber-attacks on Democratic organizations and the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign during the 2016 election.

Trump later acknowledged the spy agencies’ conclusion was correct in a statement but then undercut the conclusion by adding the election interference “could be other people also.”

Nielsen also said the U.S. is still having difficulty protecting critical infrastructure from cyber-attacks, calling for greater data-sharing across government and the private sector to combat hacking.

“We still have trouble connecting the dots” between the government and the private sector. While there is enough data to block cyber attacks, “we aren’t sharing fast enough or deeply enough.”

Her remarks come as the government works to combat cyber-threats on banks, energy and water infrastructure, and the integrity of the 2018 elections. She reiterated a warning to other nations that the U.S. would expose and punish countries tied to efforts to disrupt American elections.

“We must act now,” Nielsen said. “That starts with calling out the offenders whether it’s North Korea or Russians. We are identifying countries” with these capabilities.

An analysis released in March by the FBI and Homeland Security said that hackers are conducting a broad assault on the U.S. electric grid, water processing plants, air transportation facilities and other targets in rolling attacks on some of the country’s most sensitive infrastructure.

In late March, at least half a dozen pipeline operators shut down their third-party electronic communications due to a cyberattack.

Nielsen said the U.S. is establishing a national management center to help businesses and the government collaborate to protect infrastructure.