U.S. Cyber Command cut Russian troll factory’s access to the internet

Act passed last year also cleared the way for clandestine cyber operations that fall below that same threshold, categorizing them as “traditional military activity.”

It is not clear whether the impact of the action against IRA will be long-lasting. Russia’s tactics are evolving, and some analysts were skeptical the strike would deter the Russian troll factory or Putin.

“Such an operation would be more of a pinprick that is more annoying than deterring in the long run,” Thomas Rid, a strategic-studies professor at Johns Hopkins University who was not briefed on the details, told the Post.

U.S. officials told the Post that “grand strategic deterrence” is not always the goal. “Part of our objective is to throw a little curveball, inject a little friction, sow confusion,” said one defense official. “There’s value in that. We showed what’s in the realm of the possible. It’s not the old way of doing business anymore.”

“The calculus for us here was that you’re just pushing back in the same way that the adversary has for years,” a second defense official said. “It’s not escalatory. In fact, we’re finally in the game.”

Other officials were more circumspect.

“Causing consternation or throwing sand in the gears may raise the cost of engaging in nefarious activities, but it is not going to cause a nation state to just drop their election interference or their malign influence in general,” a third official said. “It’s not going to convince the decision-maker at the top.”

Blocking IRA’s access to the internet was only one of the actions Cyber Command took to deter Russia from meddling in the 2018 midterms. Last October, the New York Time reported that Cybercom sent “direct messaging” which targeted the trolls as well as hackers who work for the Russian military intelligence agency, the GRU. Using emails, pop-ups, texts, or direct messages, U.S. operatives, beginning in October, let the Russians know that their real names and online handles were known and they should not interfere in other nations’ affairs, defense officials said.

Gen. Paul Nakasone, the commander of Cyber Command and director of the NSA, in July formed the Russia Small Group, made up of 75 to 80 people from Cybercom and the NSA, which are part of the Defense Department.

Nakasone, in an interview with Joint Force Quarterly, described Cybercom’s strategy as “acting outside our borders, being outside our networks, to ensure that we understand what our adversaries are doing.”