The Plot to Hack America: How Putin's Cyberspies and WikiLeaks Tried to Steal the 2016 Election Paperback – 10 October 2016

Apparently, many people are yet to come terms with the Trump win. the account " How Donald Trump Won the 2016 Presidential Election and Disarrayed the Political Establishment" proved helpful to me. I pray for our divided country.

Multiply-decorated US Naval officer Malcolm Nance’s period of active duty was between 1981 and 2001, during which time he worked as a cryptology specialist and took part in counter-terrorist combat operations in Iraq. Fluent in Russian and Arabic, he is the author of several books on Islamic terrorism including the NY Times bestseller ‘Defeating Isis.’In ‘The Plot to Hack America’ pub July 2016, Nance details how the DNC was hacked by two separate Russian-manufactured malware programs identified by cybersecurity professionals as ‘APT-28’ & ‘APT-29’. Starting in early 2016, thousands of emails plus cellphone, address and credit card details were stolen from everyone formally associated with the US Democrat Party. The book demonstrates why this hack was more complete & effective than the physical break-in to the Watergate offices on the orders of Richard Nixon in June 1972, which it resembled in all essential respects.The author lays out the history of Russia’s covert intelligence operations over the decades and demonstrates how we can be certain that the ‘Cyber Bears’ are the product of the FSB (ex-KGB), GRU (Russian Military intelligence) and Russian criminal cyberwarfare subcontractors. Common KGB/FSB MO is that when physically breaking into someone’s apartment, the intruders ensure the occupant returning home is greeted by “calling cards”- cigarette butts stamped into carpets, household contents thrown about and ‘something unpleasant’ left in the toilet bowl. True to form, the Russian hackers deliberately left metadata behind in the DNC servers to advertise their successful break-in and ensure any competent IT professional investigating the breach would quickly discover the hackers were state-sponsored actors operating out of Moscow. Moscow then weaponised the hacked data and timed its selective release through Wikileaks in order to cause maximum damage to the Clinton campaign and suppress the vote for Hillary Clinton on election day.These same hackers have been active in Lithuania, Georgia and other places, and in Estonia where they virtually shut down the country after successfully hacking and taking control of the power station network. They supported Marine le Pen in the French presidential election by attacking TV Monde in the “cyber-caliphate” false-flag operation. In France they failed despite their efforts, whereas in the USA they succeeded.According to Nance, the strategic objectives of this 7-stage Russian operation included:• To damage Hillary Clinton sufficiently for her to lose the US presidential election which she would otherwise win• To install the favoured Russian candidate, Donald Trump, in the White House• To damage/weaken NATO by getting the Russian-picked presidential candidate to publicly trash its reputation and proclaim NATO has "outlived its usefulness"• "Repatriate" marginal ethnic-Russian regions like Crimea and the eastern part of Ukraine with no effective opposition from the westAnd further:• Force the USA into isolationism and weaken/diminish it internationally• Bring about a new world order in which a renascent autocratic Russia would “call the shots” in the eastern hemisphere with an isolationist (obedient/compliant?) USA acquiescent/supportive of Russian actionsWikileaks has for years been credibly suspected by many to be a fully-owned arm of Russian military intelligence created to damage western democracies under the pretext of “government openness”. Nance doesn't go this far, but names Wikileaks “Russia’s laundromat” as they were an essential part of this cyberwarfare attack.The worrying questions are: to what degree was Trump aware of this Russian plot to hack his opponents when he made public statements on the campaign which demonstrated he knew about it in advance and publicly praised Wikileaks, and to what degree did he and his team actively assist the Russians? Is this treasonous, and can a sitting president be indicted while in office?TPTHA was published prior to the Russians’ widespread election-day hacking of the voter rolls in Democrat-voting districts in swing states designed to suppress the Democrat vote and deliver the election to Trump, so was highly prophetic at the time of its publication.The book is a fairly easy 153-page read, beefed out with 20 pages of appendices and 31 pages of endnotes. It's very thorough and professionally written. The sub-title of this July 2016-publication should be updated from “tried to steal” to “stole”.

Read this book if you want to connect the dots as to what is going on in the States with this whole Trump thing....scary but true, backed by numerous sources and other things you can verify on your own with the abundance of info that's out there. Although understanding it all helps, it's too bad those Republicans that aren't speaking up or who still support the Trump agenda don't seem bothered by their candidate in the least.

I haven't of course checked the many references cited by the author but the various elements he brings forward in his analysis are grounded, well documented and highly plausible. Further than that, everyone will make his own opinion. Taking into account that the book was published before the November ballot, the book seems quite prescient and is definitely worth reading.

Does Vladimir Putin have Donald Trump in his hip pocket? Are we in serious danger? Quotes below are from Malcolm Nance’s terrifying account and the locations in your Kindle edition.In the words of the card player when he turns over four kings: “Read ‘em and weep.”= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =Simply put, the Democratic machine was hit by a terrorist attack without bombs. Location 478Turned away by American banks due to bankruptcies, Trump has been getting investments from Russian sources. Location721Trump was dazzled, and desired the attention of the only oligarch that mattered, Vladimir Putin. Location 729Trump, knowing he was culling favor with a powerful man—he had nuclear weapons and beautiful women… Location 750“[Trump] is a bright & talented person without doubt. He is the absolute leader of the presidential race.” —Putin Location 829In his own mind, Trump may feel he received more support from Moscow than he did from the Republican Party. Location 834“Secret Ledger in Ukraine lists cash for Donald Trump’s campaign chief [Manafort].” NY Times [...]hpa9nh6 Location 911Manafort had been paid by pro-Russian parties in the Ukraine to organize anti-NATO protests in Crimea Location 922Howard Lorber is a Trump campaign donor and investor in Russia. He’s given $100,000 to the “Trump Victory Fund” Location 935Michael Caputo worked under contract to improve Vladimir Putin’s image. He took on the roll of Trump’s advisor. Location 965[Gen. Michael] Flynn has also expressed desires to develop a stronger relationship with Russia. Location 970[Flynn] bragged about being the only US official allowed into the HQ of Russian Military Intelligence, the GRU. Location 976Russian Television 10th anniversary gala in Moscow, Flynn was seated at the right hand of Vladimir Putin. Location 1004Pro-Russian players apparently were so close to Trump they could literally be chosen as his campaign manager Location 1021Trump wants money and Russia has money, prestige, and the kind of women Trump likes. Location 1038Putin’s vision: use sycophant Trump as President to subordinate US to role of junior partner to a rising Russia Location 1048In the intelligence business, we’d say Mr. Putin recruited Trump as an unwitting agent of the Russian Federation. Location 1119OPERATION LUCKY-7; THE KREMLIN PLAN TO ELECT A PRESIDENT Location 1122Vladimir Putin sees the election of Donald Trump as the fastest way to destabilize the United States. Location 1129There is no greater threat to Putin’s policies than Hillary Clinton. Location 1167The deep personal animosity between Clinton and Putin is long and sordid. Location1171Trump: “Hats off to the Russians.” Location 1272Trump himself believed that NATO was obsolete and should be disbanded, that Crimea should be given to Russia Location1283Putin has been able to get Donald to tout his connections to Russia as a positive for America. Location 1352Trump successfully spun the line: “Putin respects me & would work with me, he won’t work with Hillary.”Location 1356For old-school KGB officers, conducting a political & cyberwarfare operation would be a lifelong dream. Location 1364Russian Intelligence can steal, smear, influence and quite possibly select a U.S. President. Location1371Russian intelligence would spare no effort to elect Donald Trump President of the United States. Location 1371

Malcolm is a respected scholar because his research is rock solid and to the point. This book takes on cyber security and the disturbing connections of FSB/ Putin's attempts at hybrid warfare tactics that seek to disrupt US Elections just like my research and evidence found in Ukraine in 2015. If you are in cyber security you NEED to read this book!