Vice President Mike Pence argued Tuesday that President Trump’s administration succeeded a “cyber-crisis” when he assumed the President’s position, accusing the Obama administration for the Russian interference, Fox News informed.
“Sadly, previous administrations have let the American people down when it came to cyber defense,” Pence said in a speech at the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity Summit in New York City. “At the outset of this administration, it became clear from early on: In a very real sense, we inherited a cyber-crisis.”
Pence accused the Obama administration for major security breaches in recent years, such as the Equifax hack — which affected the data of half the U.S. population — and the hack at the federal Office of Personnel Management, which affected about 18 million people, CNet.com reported.
Pence vowed the White House would take proactive measures to overhaul the country’s cyber-security systems to prevent another attack.
The Vice President also derided Russia for interfering in the 2016 presidential election and vowed the Trump administration would do more to prevent future cyber-attacks.
Pence’s denouncement of Russia was unprecedented, given President Trump’s ambiguous stance on election meddling, the Wall Street Journal reported.
“While other nations certainly possess the capability, the fact is Russia meddled in our 2016 elections,” Pence said. “That is the unambiguous judgment of our intelligence community, and, as the President said, we accept the intelligence community’s conclusion.”
Trump was widely criticized for appearing to accept Russian President Vladimir Putin’s assurance that Russia had not interfered in the 2016 election – just days after Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s indictment of 12 Russian intelligence officials. But following widespread backlash, Trump reversed his position.
At the same New York event, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen announced several initiatives to combat future threats, Politico reported, including an election security task force, a supply chain task force and a National Risk Management center.
The risk management center will reportedly work to safeguard the nation’s banks, energy companies, and other major industries, the Journal reported.
“Our digital lives are now in danger every single day,” Nielsen said, adding that the next 9/11 attack would likely “reach us online rather than on an airplane.”
Meanwhile, a group of demonstrators wearing red “Handmaid’s Tale” robes marched outside the summit to protest the Trump administration’s now-rescinded “zero tolerance” policy, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ religious liberty task force.
A group called Refuse Fascism, which organized the protest, maintains that the Trump administration’s “religious liberty” policies are discriminatory towards LGBT people and women, AM New York reported.
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