From imperfect voting machines to the fake news that chokes social media, the U.S., the U.K., and France are only beginning to wrestle with the ways in which democracy can be hacked. But Germany’s Chaos Computer Club, a multigenerational army of activists, has made the country’s democracy a lot tougher to undermine, Bloomberg reports:
In Germany, which is heading to the polls in September, CCC has been paying closer attention. Sometimes that means such stunts as reprogramming computer systems on a dare, but the loose confederation of about 5,500 hackers isn’t a bunch of bored teens in it for the lulz. Its 29 local chapters are stocked with professionals who run security for banks, head encryption startups, and advise policymakers. The group publishes an occasional magazine, produces a monthly talk radio show, and throws the occasional party, too.
“The only way to save a democracy is to explain the way things work,” says Linus Neumann, a CCC spokesman and information security consultant. “Understanding things is a good immunization.”
The Kremlin insists it is employing information warfare to counter perceived foreign efforts to foment ‘color revolution,’ MEMRI reports.
“We live in the world of information technologies. We are participants in this war – informational, technological, communicational,” says Yuri Baluyevsky, adviser to the Commander-in-Chief of the Russia’s National Guard Forces. “Our task is not to allow negative influence on public consciousness, especially of the young part of our society.”
According to Baluyevsky, “countering civic–political destabilization should be done primarily in the informational sphere.” RTWT
CNN will host a special documentary, “The Russian Connection: Inside the Attack on Democracy,” reported by CNN chief national security correspondent Jim Sciutto on Tuesday night, The Hill reports.
