Cyber warfare

Despite President Trump's protestations to the contrary, the Russians have been shown to be guilty of cyber warfare against the U.S. This level of cyber warfare was used in an attempt to disrupt our election processes. It has involved using phony and stolen identities to create websites for non-existent groups and fake news intended to help some candidates and to harm others. This meddling also is intended to exasperate political disagreements over contentious issues. The Russian hackers have created websites promoting both sides of issues such as gun control or racial issues. They are actively trying to capitalize on social issues to disrupt our political processes. Voters who find websites that promote political actions to support or oppose issues can help by researching who is behind the websites before responding to their postings.

There is no way to tell how much if any effect their activities had on voter turn out or vote totals for any candidate. However, the sheer fact that the tactic might have had some effects stands as a warning to the U.S. government that the election process needs protections from hackers. This is not a Democrat vs. Republican issue. It is an issue of national security.

Data security affects every department and agency of the federal government, and we need to constantly monitor our systems. President Trump has said that other countries are "laughing their a**** off at us." If they are laughing at anyone, it is you, Mr. President. You stated that you believed Vladimir Putin's denial that Russia was involved in hacking U.S. government computer systems. While every U.S. intelligence agency claimed Russia was hacking into our systems, you refused to believe them. So, if any part of the U.S. government has shown itself to be subject to ridicule, I believe the target of that ridicule is at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington, DC

Jack Dragoni attended Boston College and served in the U.S. Army in Berlin and Vietnam. He lives in Chaffee, Missouri.