Trump's ludicrous revenge plan targeting Obama administration in retaliation for leaks [View all]

[bigtree]

Benjamin Pauker‏ @benpauker
EXCLUSIVE: Trump planning retaliation for leaks -- “ludicrous” revenge plan targeting Obama administration.

Trump’s inner circle is war-gaming how best to respond to the Washington Post’s bombshell report that he shared classified intelligence with the Russians about an Islamic State plot, sensitive information reportedly passed to the United States by Israel.

One option under consideration? Attack former President Barack Obama and his administration over their handling of sensitive data, in particular through one information-sharing program regarding cybersecurity threats.

According to a source with knowledge of a White House meeting that took place Wednesday morning, Trump’s team is considering launching an investigation into a Department of Homeland Security program that shares information on cyberattacks in an effort to coordinate globally on countering digital threats, insinuating that it inappropriately opened up streams of sensitive data to Russia and other nonallies. Another option under consideration is placing a story in the media about the program, similarly accusing it of sharing sensitive information...

The information-sharing program came under fire when the system triggered false alarms about Russian cyberattacks on private company systems, including one utility company, following the government’s decision to publish a list of threat indicators about Cozy Bear and Fancy Bear in its Grizzly Steppe report. That report, which contained a list of IP addresses and other identifying information about potentially malicious accounts, was prepared by the Department of Homeland Security following concerns that the Russians had been meddling in the election. The alarms aren’t meant to be conclusive evidence of a hack but a cause for a deeper look, the department said.

But the false positives aren’t the target of the Trump team. Sharing information with international partners might be used as an opportunity and excuse for “finger-pointing and house-cleaning” at the Department of Homeland Security, the source with knowledge of the meeting said. Members of Trump’s inner circle are apparently angry with the department for refusing to share certain classified information with White House staffers, because they lack proper clearances — a roadblock the White House insists doesn’t exist, because it has the president’s signoff...

read more: http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/05/18/trump-team-planning-possible-retaliation-for-classified-leak-allegations/