As Hillary Clinton supporters fret about a WikiLeaks “October
surprise,” dozens of defense and security experts from both parties are
urging the Obama administration to take tough action if it concludes
that Russia orchestrated a series of cyberattacks on the Democratic
Party.
But based on past U.S. handling of foreign-sponsored cyberassaults,
it could take months or even years to mount such a response — action
that could encompass anything from public shaming or economic sanctions
to indictments or retaliatory hacking. Even the most optimistic
timeline, according to interviews with
former security and law
enforcement officials, could delay a forceful U.S. reprisal until just
weeks before the very presidential election that the hackers may be
trying to influence.
“I’m sure they’re cognizant of [the] timeline,” said Nathaniel
Gleicher, who served as director for cybersecurity policy at the White
House National Security Council until last October. “That doesn’t mean
that they’re going to take action sooner or later.”
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