Tools and Weapons: The Promise and The Peril of the Digital Age

by Brad Smith

We had recently watched Strontium as it had created six websites that clearly targeted American politicians. Three were focused on the US Senate, and two others were particularly noteworthy. One of these appeared to target the International Republican Institute, or IRI, which was a leading Republican organization that supported democratic principles around the world. The other appeared to target the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank that had objected strongly to a variety of Russian policies and tactics. Put together, these provided a solid indication that Strontium was not targeting Democrats alone and instead was focusing on both sides of the American political aisle. The DCU secured a court order to transfer control of all six sites to our sinkhole. We concluded that we had acted before anyone had been hacked. Now the question was how public we should be about it. There was sure to be an active debate among the various groups within Microsoft. But it was a good time to encourage a more wide-ranging public discussion, especially now that the hacking was impacting both political parties.