Cyberwar : how Russian hackers and trolls helped elect a president : what we don't, can't, and do know / Kathleen Hall Jamieson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Jamieson, Kathleen Hall, author.

Contributor:

Esther F. Kantrowitz & Lionel Kantrowitz Collection Endowed Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Presidents--United States--Election--2016.

Presidents.

Elections--Corrupt practices--United States.

Elections.

Elections--Corrupt practices.

United States.

Trump, Donald, 1946-.

Trump, Donald.

Russia (Federation)--Foreign relations--United States.

Russia (Federation).

International relations.

United States--Foreign relations--Russia (Federation).

Diplomatic relations.

Presidents--Election.

Physical Description:

xvi, 375 pages : illustrations ; 21 cm

Edition:

Expanded and revised in paperback.

Other Title:

How Russian hackers and trolls helped elect a president what we don't, can't, and do know

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2020]

Summary:

"Imagine a strategy memo forecasting cyberattacks by Russian hackers, trolls, and bots designed to roil social discontent and damage the electoral prospects of a major party US presidential nominee, or, if she winds up winning, to sabotage her ability to govern by seeding allegations of Democratic voter fraud. Guaranteed payoff. No fingerprints. No keystroke record. No contrails in the cloud. To ensure that Americans would believe that disparaging messages about her were made in the US, use bitcoin to buy space and set up virtual private networks (VPNs) on American servers. Distribute hacked content stolen from the accounts of her staff and associates through an intermediary, WikiLeaks. Use identity theft, stolen Social Security numbers, and appropriated IDs to circumvent Facebook and PayPal's demand for actual names, birth dates, and addresses. On platforms such as Instagram and Twitter, register under assumed names. Diffuse and amplify your attack and advocacy through posts on Fac ebook, tweets and retweets on Twitter, videos on YouTube, reporting and commentary on RT, blogging on Tumblr, news sharing on Reddit, and viral memes and jokes on 9GAG. Add to the mix a video game called Hilltendo in which a missile-straddling Clinton figure vaporizes classified emails sought by the FBI. Employ "online agitators" and bots to upvote posts from imposter websites such as BlackMattersUS.com to the top of such subreddits as r/The_Donald and r/HillaryForPrison. Drive content to trend. To maximize the impact of your handiwork, use data analytics and search-engine maximization tools built into the social media platforms. To test and fuel doubts about the security of US voter information, hack the election systems of states. And, throughout the primary and general election season, insinuate the notion that if Hillary Clinton were to win, she would have done so by rigging the election, an outcome that would repay her assaults on the legitimacy of their leader's presidency with d oubts about her own. Were she instead to lose, she would no longer be a thistle in the toned torso of the hackers and trolls' boss's likely boss. Every result but one produces desirable results for the Kremlin. Outcome one: Clinton is off the international stage. Outcome two: she wins but can't govern effectively. Outcome three: the former Secretary of State is elected and the country simply moves on, but the sabotage nonetheless has magnified cultural tensions and functioned as a pilot from which to birth later success - perhaps when she runs for a second term. The only eventuality that damages the Russian cybersoldiers and their commander-in-chief is the fourth in which, in real time, the cyberattackers are unmasked by a vigilant intelligence community, condemned by those in both major political parties and around the world, characterized by the media as spies and saboteurs, the Russian messaging is blocked or labeled as Russian propaganda, and, when included in media accounts, the s tolen content is relentlessly tied to its Russian origins and sources. None of that happened. Instead, to the surprise of the Russian masterminds as well as both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, he won the Electoral College and with it a four-year claim on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Although countrywide she bested him by almost 2.9 million votes, he unexpectedly captured an Electoral College majority by running the table. By the end of the evening of November 8, Florida as well as Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania were in his column. The ways in which Russian hacking and social media messaging altered the content of the electoral dialogue and contributed to Donald Trump's victory are the subjects of this book. To begin my exploration, this overview chapter will highlight key findings of the US intelligence community; preview my focus on the hackers and trolls and the synergies between them; justify casting the Russian machinations as acts of cyberwar; outline ways in which suscepti bilities in our system of government and media structures magnified their effects; and note five presuppositions that will shape my analysis of the Russian trolls' work and one that will guide my study of the effects of the hackers."-- Provided by publisher.

"Imagine a strategy memo forecasting cyberattacks by Russian hackers, trolls, and bots designed to roil social discontent and damage the electoral prospects of a major party US presidential nominee, or, if she winds up winning, to sabotage her ability to govern by seeding allegations of Democratic voter fraud. Guaranteed payoff. No fingerprints. No keystroke record. No contrails in the cloud. To ensure that Americans would believe that disparaging messages about her were made in the US, use bitcoin to buy space and set up virtual private networks (VPNs) on American servers. Distribute hacked content stolen from the accounts of her staff and associates through an intermediary, WikiLeaks. Use identity theft, stolen Social Security numbers, and appropriated IDs to circumvent Facebook and PayPal's demand for actual names, birth dates, and addresses. On platforms such as Instagram and Twitter, register under assumed names. Diffuse and amplify your attack and advocacy through posts on Facebook, tweets and retweets on Twitter, videos on YouTube, reporting and commentary on RT, blogging on Tumblr, news sharing on Reddit, and viral memes and jokes on 9GAG. Add to the mix a video game called Hilltendo in which a missile-straddling Clinton figure vaporizes classified emails sought by the FBI. Employ "online agitators" and bots to upvote posts from imposter websites such as BlackMattersUS.com to the top of such subreddits as r/The_Donald and r/HillaryForPrison. Drive content to trend. To maximize the impact of your handiwork, use data analytics and search-engine maximization tools built into the social media platforms. To test and fuel doubts about the security of US voter information, hack the election systems of states. And, throughout the primary and general election season, insinuate the notion that if Hillary Clinton were to win, she would have done so by rigging the election, an outcome that would repay her assaults on the legitimacy of their leader's presidency with doubts about her own. Were she instead to lose, she would no longer be a thistle in the toned torso of the hackers and trolls' boss's likely boss. Every result but one produces desirable results for the Kremlin. Outcome one: Clinton is off the international stage. Outcome two: she wins but can't govern effectively. Outcome three: the former Secretary of State is elected and the country simply moves on, but the sabotage nonetheless has magnified cultural tensions and functioned as a pilot from which to birth later success - perhaps when she runs for a second term. The only eventuality that damages the Russian cybersoldiers and their commander-in-chief is the fourth in which, in real time, the cyberattackers are unmasked by a vigilant intelligence community, condemned by those in both major political parties and around the world, characterized by the media as spies and saboteurs, the Russian messaging is blocked or labeled as Russian propaganda, and, when included in media accounts, the stolen content is relentlessly tied to its Russian origins and sources. None of that happened. Instead, to the surprise of the Russian masterminds as well as both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, he won the Electoral College and with it a four-year claim on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Although countrywide she bested him by almost 2.9 million votes, he unexpectedly captured an Electoral College majority by running the table. By the end of the evening of November 8, Florida as well as Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania were in his column. The ways in which Russian hacking and social media messaging altered the content of the electoral dialogue and contributed to Donald Trump's victory are the subjects of this book. To begin my exploration, this overview chapter will highlight key findings of the US intelligence community; preview my focus on the hackers and trolls and the synergies between them; justify casting the Russian machinations as acts of cyberwar; outline ways in which susceptibilities in our system of government and media structures magnified their effects; and note five presuppositions that will shape my analysis of the Russian trolls' work and one that will guide my study of the effects of the hackers."-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Part I Who Did It, Why, and What Research Says about How It Might Matter

1 How Do We Know That Russian Spies and Saboteurs (aka Hackers and Trolls) Intervened in the 2016 Presidential Election? p. 19

2 A Theory of Communication That Posits Effects p. 32

Part II The Prerequisites of Troll Influence

3 The First Troll Prerequisite: Widespread Messaging p. 61

4 The Second Troll Prerequisite: Messages Aligned with Trump's Electoral Interests p. 70

5 The Third Troll Prerequisite, Part 1: Mobilizing White Christians and Veterans p. 91

6 The Third Troll Prerequisite, Part 2: Demobilizing Blacks and Sanders's Supporters, and Shifting Liberals to Stein p. 105

7 The Fourth Troll Prerequisite: Persuasive Appeals p. 131

8 The Fifth Troll Prerequisite: Well-Targeted Messaging p. 141

Part III How the Russians Affected the News and Debate Agendas in the Last Month of the Campaign

9 The Effect of Russian Hacking (and Troll Reinforcement) on Press Coverage p. 159

10 Hacked Content Altered the Press Agenda in the Final Four Weeks of the Election p. 179

11 The Effect of Hacked Content on the Last Two Presidential Debates p. 187

12 The Role of Russian Disinformation in the Comey "October Surprise" p. 196

13 Russian, Assange, and Troll Activities in the Closing Days of the Election p. 210

Part IV #DemocracyRIP: Delegitimizing the Election of President Clinton p. 215

Part V Did the Russian Machinations Make the Election Close Enough for Clinton to Lose/Trump to Win? p. 233.

Notes:

Includes index.

"First issued as an Oxford University Press paperback 2020."

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Esther F. Kantrowitz & Lionel Kantrowitz Collection Endowed Fund.

Other Format:

Online version: Jamieson, Kathleen Hall, Cyberwar

ISBN:

9780190058838

0190058838

OCLC:

1140353112

Publisher Number:

99985023366