Obama Cyber Chief Confirms ‘Stand Down’ Order Against Russian Cyber-Attacks

‘It’s not accurate to say all activities ceased at that point’

This story is cross-posted at our consumer site, Grabien News. Watch it there – without audiomarks.

Obama Cyber Chief Confirms ‘Stand Down’ Order Against Russian Cyberattacks (The Washington Free Beacon)

Former Obama administration National Security Council cybersecurity coordinator Michael Daniel confirmed on Wednesday that a "stand down" order was given to counter Russian cyberattacks during the 2016 election.

During a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, Sen. James Risch (R., Idaho) asked Daniel about a passage in the book Russian Roluette. The passage was about a staffer from Daniel's team, Daniel Prieto, retelling the time that Obama's national security adviser Susan Rice told Daniel and his team to halt their efforts and to "stand down" in countering Russia's cyberattacks.

Daniel was quoted saying to his team that they had to stop working on options to counter the Russian attack: "We've been told to stand down." Prieto is quoted as being "incredulous and in disbelief" and asking, "Why the hell are we standing down?"

Video files
Full
Compact
Audio files
Full
Compact