President-elect Donald Trump has appointed Devin Nunes, CEO of Truth Social and former chair of the House Intelligence Committee, to lead the President's Intelligence Advisory Board. This board is responsible for overseeing the U.S. intelligence community's adherence to the Constitution. Nunes will continue his role at Trump Media & Technology Group, further linking the company to the incoming administration. Trump's decision highlights Nunes' past involvement in challenging the Russia investigation and his ongoing influence within Trump's circle.
Russian hackers, including an officer from Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), conducted a sophisticated spear phishing campaign targeting current and former employees of the U.S. intelligence community, defense contractors, and Energy Department facilities. The hackers used spoof email accounts to trick victims into providing login credentials. The operation also targeted think tank researchers, journalists, and politicians in the UK. The U.S. Justice Department blames the Russian government for the cyber campaign, which aimed to destabilize democratic processes. The FBI is tracking the hackers, and damage assessments are underway. The UK has detected similar cyber activity and has sanctioned two individuals while summoning Russia's ambassador.
A new unclassified assessment by the U.S. intelligence community reveals that Russia has been actively undermining election integrity and democratic processes worldwide. The assessment highlights Russia's efforts to spread false information, organize protests, sabotage voting, and amplify conspiracy theories through social media. The report states that Russia has targeted at least 11 elections across nine democracies, including the U.S., between 2020 and 2022. The Kremlin's tactics aim to sow instability within democratic societies and portray elections as dysfunctional and resulting governments as illegitimate. While China is also interested in influencing elections globally, the report notes that Russia has been the "leading culprit" in targeting election integrity specifically.
