@dickdurbin responds to my letter RE: securing elections

August 7, 2018 Mr. William Rosen ----------------------------- Lombard, IL 60148 Dear Mr. Rosen:           Thank you for contacting me about securing our election systems following Russia's interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.           In January 2017, the United States intelligence community released an assessment of Russia's cyberattack on the 2016 presidential election.  We learned that President Vladimir Putin personally ordered a campaign to sow mistrust in our democracy and influence the outcome of the election in President Trump's favor.            We also learned that beginning in June 2016, the Illinois State Board of Elections was the target of a malicious, month-long cyberattack.  A May 4, 2017, hearing in the Illinois State Senate Subcommittee on Cybersecurity revealed the breach enabled the intruder to retrieve confidential voter information from nearly 80,000 voter profiles whose information originated from every one of the 110 election authorities in Illinois.             Authorities have confirmed that Illinois was one of two states targeted, along with Arizona—and recent reports indicate that these attacks may have been broader and targeted at more states than previously understood.  Most recently, Cook County was the first known U.S. governmental entity to be infected by the international WannaCry ransomware.           In June 2017, I, along with State Senator Michael Hastings, sent letters to all 110 Illinois county clerks and election board executive directors to assess the security level of the State's election system, and how federal and state governments can best assist efforts to strengthen the system.           Safe and fair elections are a sacred institution within our democracy, and the safety of election boards across Illinois are essential to the continued success of our democratic process.  We cannot allow for the unauthorized and malicious interference in elections to continue.           These Russian attacks were not limited to cyberwarfare.  Earlier this year, Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating several aspects of the 2016 presidential election, also announced charges for 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities associated with Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.  According to the indictment, Russians traveled to the United States with the explicit purpose to learn more about American political and electoral processes and how they could interfere with such processes.  The details and charges, which include conspiracy to defraud the United States and aggravated identity theft, are causes for great concern.           In response to these recent indictments, I also introduced the Defending Elections Against Trolls from Enemy Regimes (DETER) Act (S. 2785).  This legislation would bar foreigners who improperly interfere in our elections from obtaining and visa and coming to the United States.  The DETER Act was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.           Despite my efforts, the Trump Administration has ignored the facts of Russian interference and slowly implemented mandatory sanctions against Russia passed by Congress last year.  Congress also has done little to protect our elections against future interference.  The failure of President Trump and Congress to address the security threat of the hack on our election is a stunning abdication of responsibility to protect the United States and our democratic values.           I will keep your concerns in mind and continue working to find ways to improve our nation's election system security.           Thank you again for contacting me.  Please feel free to keep in touch.
	Sincerely,       Richard J. Durbin       United States Senator
RJD/jw