NSA boss talks election security — carefully

Greetings, it’s Katrina in Washington. I caught up with Paul Nakasone, the four-star army general who runs the National Security Agency Cybe [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Greetings, it’s Katrina in Washington. I caught up with Paul Nakasone, the four-star army general who runs the National Security Agency Cyber Command, about US elections. But first… Today’s must-reads: • Twitter got a [win over Musk]( with a trial fast-tracked for October • US officials say they seized [$500,000 in cryptocurrency]( from North Korean hackers • Apple puts a [lid on hiring](, joining its fellow tech giants The NSA’s work is never done Meeting General Paul Nakasone in the heart of his lair in Fort Meade turns out to be more theatrical than one might expect of a career military officer. The Star Trek parallels begin when we meet in the Battle Bridge. On the science-fiction television show, the Battle Bridge was a command center on a starship. In this case, it’s an elevated room where the general who runs both the National Security Agency and US Cyber Command can run the show. Moments after greeting me there, Nakasone beckons me and a group of reporters over to a set of frosted glass windows. Suddenly the windows unfrost, revealing a larger room below that partly encircles us: the 24-hour watch floor of the Integrated Cyber Center. Multiple screens—maps, real-time data and television news—flank the curved walls; all labeled “Unclassified” in bright green for the duration of my visit. A bank of clocks display the times in Moscow and Beijing, among others. Meeting Nakasone—who’s such a careful speaker that people who know him quip he’s spent the recent years learning to say very little—isn’t unlike visiting the Battle Bridge before the windows clear up. There's so much more happening behind the glass. Still, he’s worried about election security as he counts down to the November midterms. “We are going to be full-bore against foreign interference and influence in our elections,” he says, in comments subsequently approved for release by his team. On Tuesday, in front of a cybersecurity conference at Fordham University in New York, Nakasone wondered whether ransomware would disrupt the midterm elections, and said the US is conducting a “series of operations” now. The backstory on US election security is instructive. The US intelligence community concluded that Vladimir Putin ordered Russia’s “boldest yet” influence campaign in 2016, with Russians hacking and leaking Democratic emails and spreading disinformation on social media. The result was the greatest expansion in US Cyber Command’s powers to date, scrapping a doctrine of restraint for a far more aggressive approach. As part of a strategy known as “persistent engagement” and “defending forward” that was inaugurated in 2018, Cyber Command started conducting operations outside US networks on a constant basis. Nakasone has made clear he has leaned heavily into those new authorities, directing his teams to take action against foreign threats. This included operations against both Russian and Iranian threats in 2020. Cyber Command conducted more than two dozen operations to get ahead of foreign threats before they interfered with the 2020 elections, he testified last year. This time, he’s [standing up the Election Security Group](, co-led by NSA and US Cyber Command. “We bring our best people to do three things in terms of securing our elections,” Nakasone said. “We generate insights, to understand what your adversaries are doing; we share that information and indications of what’s happening outside the United States with a series of partners; and we take action when authorized.” Taking action is sensitive. Nakasone came under fire from some last month after [telling Sky News]( the US had undertaken offensive cyber operations in support of Ukraine since Russia’s invasion. Although his comments were vague, it triggered concerns that the US was involved in a direct cyber conflict with Russia—contrary to President Joe Biden’s assurances it would not engage directly with the country. Moscow seized on Nakasone’s comments, driving worries the remarks had been needlessly provoking. The White House denied the comments were escalatory, and Nakasone has offered little detail, but he’s shown that he sees talking about offensive cyber operations as a necessary part of his remit, however vaguely. “US Cyber Command is tasked to deny, degrade or disrupt foreign efforts to interfere in or covertly influence our elections,” he said. —[Katrina Manson](mailto:kmanson4@bloomberg.net) The big story Some 10,000 wealthy Chinese residents are looking to leave the country in the wake of punishing lockdowns and an economic slowdown. The [question now is whether the government]( will let them. What else you need to know Here’s how wireless price hikes [fatten profits for phone carriers]( with few risks. Blockchain security firm Halborn has [raised $90 million]( in the face of diving digital currency value. Lenders are thwarting the [adoption of digital currency]( in Nigeria. Follow Us More from Bloomberg Dig gadgets or video games? [Sign up for Power On]( to get Apple scoops, consumer tech news and more in your inbox on Sundays. [Sign up for Game On]( to go deep inside the video game business, delivered on Fridays. Why not try both? Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights.​​​​​​​ You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Fully Charged newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. 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