The Russia watchPutin is winning the cybersecurity war; Russia’s ‘CyberCaliphate’ ruse; Twitter suspends Guccifer, DCLeaks, and more

Forget the summit: How Trump let Putin win the cyber-security war (Maya Kosoff, New Yorker)
Trump’s continued denial of Russian election interference sets a dangerous precedent in this era of cyber-warfare—and practically guarantees that it will happen again.

The end of all illusions (Quinta Jurecic, Defense One)
Trump said nothing new in Helsinki—but his remarks clarified and distilled into a single frame his appalling disregard for an assault on America.

How the Russians broke into the Democrats’ email, and how it could have been avoided (Kate Fazzini, CNBC) The 12 Russian operatives indicted by the Justice Department waged a campaign of well-executed espionage and novel technical engineering, coupled with rudimentary computer attacks. That last part is key. Their tools may have been top-notch and their manipulation may have been slick, but the mode of entry was old-school and beatable, according to experts.

‘She was like a novelty’: How alleged Russian agent Maria Butina gained access to elite conservative circles (Rosalind S. Helderman, Tom Hamburger, Shane Harris, and Carol D. Leonnig, Washington Post)
For nearly five years, the young Russian political-science student was an unusual fixture at the most important events of the U.S. conservative movement. Maria Butina, who was indicted this week on charges of being a covert Russian agent, struck up friendships with the influential leaders of the National Rifle Association and the Conservative Political Action Conference, touting her interest in U.S. affairs and efforts to promote gun rights in Vladi­mir Putin’s restrictive Russia. She sidled up to GOP presidential candidates, seeking first an encounter with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and then, after his rising candidacy stumbled, with Donald Trump. But by August 2016, when she moved to the United States on a student visa, the FBI was watching, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

Maryland to investigate voter registration database vendor linked to Russian investor (Benjamin Freed, Statescoop)
The FBI briefed state leaders about the vendor’s ownership on Thursday, one day before federal prosecutors charged 12 Russian intelligence officers with hacking during the 2016 election.

Bitcoin, malware and ‘spearphishing’ helped Russian agents hack Democratic Party computers in 2016 election (Chris Megrian, Los Angeles Times)
The email landed in John Podesta’s crowded inbox around March 19, 2016, during the height of the presidential primaries, and it appeared to be a standard security request from Google for Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman to change his password. Doing so ultimately led to a political firestorm that is still raging.

The 2 ways Russia may have helped Trump steal the election aren’t what you think (Will Bunch, Philadelphia Inquirer)
And yet — buried beneath the headlines on Friday’s indictments — were two largely new revelations that dramatically elevated the possibility that Russian meddling wasn’t just morally and criminally wrong but actually went a long way toward snatching victory away from Clinton and handed it to Trump on Election Day.

After indictment, Russian hackers’ lives “changed forever,” ex-ambassador says (Cyrus Farivar, Arstechnica)
Dozen named Russians now can’t travel as freely, and Moscow is now on notice.

Russian intelligence officers targeted state and county election boards, U.S. Justice Department alleges (Benjamin Freed, Statescoop)
Illinois says it is “likely” the state where the personal information of half a million voters was stolen, as described in the latest indictment from special counsel Robert Mueller.

Government’s Kaspersky ban takes effect (Joseph Marks, Nextgov)
Pentagon, GSA and NASA contracts will now officially prohibit Kaspersky software.

Senators call for DOJ investigation of Fancy Bear’s ‘CyberCaliphate’ ruse (Sean Lyngaas, Cyberscoop)
A bipartisan pair of senators is calling on the Department of Justice to investigate the alleged harassment of U.S. military families by Russian government hackers posing as Islamic State sympathizers. “We urge you to investigate this potential false flag operation and to hold any perpetrators accountable,” Sens. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., wrote in a July 9 letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Twitter suspends Guccifer and DCLeaks after Mueller links them to Russian hacking operation (Hamza Shaban, Washington Post)
Twitter suspended two accounts Saturday that special counsel Robert S. Mueller III has linked to a Russian intelligence operation to disrupt the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The suspensions come after a dozen Russian intelligence officials were indicted by the U.S. Justice Department Friday on charges that they hacked Democrats’ computers and used fake online personas to distribute the stolen material. The indictments further highlight how social media platforms played an integral part in the Russian disinformation campaign and how tech companies are grappling with how to prevent misuse on their massive networks.