If Russia wants return to G-8, its hacking must end
By David Ignatius
The Washington Post
As the G-7 gathers this weekend in Biarritz, France, President Trump has expressed hope for the return of Russia, the missing guest at the table. But any consideration of this issue requires dealing with Trump’s least favorite subject: Russian cybermeddling in U.S. elections.
The stark reality is that the United States is now fighting a low-level cyberwar to combat Kremlin political interference and other malign actions. U.S. Cyber Command launched this “hunt forward” campaign last summer to deter Russian meddling in the 2018 midterm elections. It’s part of a broader strategy of “persistent engagement” with adversaries.
If Trump truly wants to invite President Vladimir Putin to the 2020 version of a re-christened G-8, there’s an obvious price he should demand from Putin: a verifiable commitment to stop Russia’s egregious cyber-interference in the elections of the U.S. and other members of the current G-7.
Trump this week floated the idea of readmitting Russia, which had been expelled from the then-G-8 in 2014 following its invasion of Crimea. “I could certainly see it being the G-8 again,” he told reporters before a meeting with President Klaus Iohannis of Romania, “because a lot of the things we talk about have to do with Russia.”
That’s not a crazy idea. Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, maintains a regular dialogue with his Russian counterpart. After the latest meeting this week, a Pentagon statement cited “the inherent value of regular communication in order to avoid miscalculation and promote transparency.”
Meanwhile, the invisible cyberwar continues, with Cyber Command dispatching teams to work with key allies to identify and expose Russian malware. A senior defense official provided new details of this operation in an interview this week.
https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/ignatius-if-russia-wants-return-to-g-8-its-hacking-must-end/
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