Clapper: Russia is an Irresponsible Actor in the Global Cyber Arena

James Clapper, the U.S. Director of National Intelligence, stated on Tuesday, January 21, that the U.S. intelligence community has concluded that cyber attacks led by Russia during the 2016 U.S. presidential election were based on a combination of human resources, technical data sets, and open-source information. According to Reuters, Clapper, speaking before the Senate Intelligence Committee, noted that much of this report remains undisclosed due to the sensitivity of the sources and methods involved. Regarding the reasons for Russia's cyber attacks, he said, 'The Russians concluded that Trump is a businessman and that he is easier to deal with than the Democrats.' According to the U.S. Director of National Intelligence, 'Russia has attempted to influence elections in several countries.' Clapper emphasized, 'Russia remains an irresponsible actor in the global cyber arena.' Last week, U.S. intelligence agencies reported that Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, had ordered efforts to undermine Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee, to assist Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, in increasing his chances of winning electoral votes. Donald Trump, the president-elect, accepted the U.S. intelligence agencies' report on Russian cyber interference in the recent presidential election and stated that he might take action in response to these attacks from Moscow. Trump had previously denied any claims of Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election or that this country helped him win, asserting that blaming Russia was a Democratic excuse for their defeat. He tweeted, 'The only reason the hacking of the Democratic National Committee is being discussed is that the Democrats' loss was so devastating that they are embarrassed.' In this context, U.S. intelligence officials: Russia undoubtedly interfered in the U.S. elections. Trump accepted Russia's role in the cyber attacks during the U.S. elections. Russia: We are tired of the U.S. repeating claims about cyber attacks.