Following the intervention of hackers in the 2016 presidential election, the United States government recently said it was confident Russia was behind the attack. U.S. President Barack Obama imposed a series of sanctions against the country, including the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats and their families from the U.S.

He also shut down two facilities occupied by the Russians in New York and Maryland while imposing nine new sanctions on specific Russian intelligence organizations and individuals.

The Russian state-sponsored cyberattacks seemed to target Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party as a whole in the recent presidential election. Experts have speculated that Moscow sought to influence the results of the election and help Donald Trump.

In 2015 and 2016, emails and documents were leaked from Democratic National Committee servers, and the information that was leaked negatively affected Democratic candidates in around 12 congressional races in addition to the presidential election, according to The New York Times.

The hackers managed to enter Republican systems as well, but did not release that information, said Kristi Andersen, professor emeritus of political science at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

In response to Obama’s actions, President-elect Trump downplayed Russia’s involvement in the hacking, but acknowledged Russia was behind the attack during a press conference on Wednesday. Trump has worked extensively to create an image of having a positive relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, said Brian Taylor, political science professor at the Maxwell School who studies Russian politics.

Trump has discussed changing U.S. policies regarding Ukraine and NATO and has appointed members to his administration — such as Rex Tillerson for secretary of state and Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn for national security adviser — who have friendly relationships with Russia and have appeared on Russian state-sponsored television.

Despite the conflicts the cyberattacks created, experts believe Trump will not try to change the public image he has created about his relationship with Putin. Andersen said she finds it interesting that the positive view Trump has developed with Putin has caused many members of the Republican Party to have “hugely more positive views of Putin.”

It remains to be seen whether Trump knew about the cyberattacks as they were taking place. Taylor said it is hard to speculate because he said Trump’s behavior has been unpredictable throughout the campaign. Taylor also said he thinks of it “more as a willful willingness on the part of Trump to not believe uncomfortable information.”

Much of the evidence about how the alleged hackings were conducted is expected to remain as classified information.

“More information cannot easily be provided (to) the public – the classification is required to preserve the secrecy of the sources and methods we used to learn about the hacking,” said William Banks, professor of law and of public administration and international affairs, in an email.  “It creates a dilemma that is difficult to resolve.”

Experts agreed that the nine sanctions President Obama announced in retaliation for the cyberattacks were primarily symbolic and that they shouldn’t have a significant impact on U.S.– Russia relations.

“The impact was on the Dems, not on the voting or voting machines,” Banks said. “Because the impact was not destructive nor especially disruptive, the U.S. responses had to likewise be measured and restrained.”

However, Taylor said he predicts other measures of retribution, that the public isn’t aware of, are being taken as well.

Taylor added that he doubts Trump will lift the sanctions when he becomes president, saying that divisions within the legislative and executive branches will make it something that he will not want to rush into. If Trump were to reverse the sanctions, Taylor said it would just call more attention to the issue and that it would be better if he didn’t address it at all.

Taylor said the Russian government “sees (the cyberattacks) as a response to what has been done to them.”

The relationships between the U.S. and Russia began to deteriorate in 2012 when Putin returned to power. Taylor said Russia blamed many negative world events on the West, such as the revolution in Ukraine, the Arab Spring, the Panama Papers and Russian doping prior to the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Russia viewed those events “as a western hand,” particularly a United States hand, behind the actions and therefore deemed the cyberattacks justifiable, Taylor said.

Andersen said relationships with Russia are difficult in general but necessary to maintain.

“They are an old enemy in a way, but a country that’s important and that we need to get along with,” Andersen said.

Published on January 16, 2017 at 7:55 pm

Contact Sandhya: ssiyer@syr.edu