The German Marshall Fund's Alliance for Securing Democracy, a bipartisan, transatlantic campaign to identify and expose ongoing Russian efforts to undermine democracy, has published a new report entitled "Policy Blueprint for Countering Authoritarian Interference in Democracies." It recommends ways the United States could be fighting back right now.
From the Executive Summary:
There must be a bipartisan response by the Executive Branch and Congress to improve our resilience, strengthen our deterrence, and raise the cost on those who conduct these operations against us. Defending against and deterring the threat also requires greater transatlantic cooperation at NATO and between the United States and the EU. Finally, Americans must rise above the polarization and hyper-partisanship in our media and civic discourse that exacerbated social and political divisions the Russian government exploited.
Unfortunately, we are seeing our nation move in the opposite direction. Republicans in Congress seem unwilling to put country over party. President Trump insists on insulting and alienating our European allies. Civic discourse is deteriorating, and social and political divides are widening.
The report offers "immediate actions that Congress, government, and non-government actors can begin immediately" which include, in part, the following:
1. Raise the cost of conducting malign influence operations against the United States and its allies.
The U.S. government at the highest level should publicly articulate a declaratory policy that makes clear it considers malign foreign influence operations a national security threat and will respond to them accordingly ...
2. Close vulnerabilities that foreign adversaries exploit to undermine democratic institutions.
The administration and Congress should take several steps to ensure the integrity of our electoral process ahead of the 2018 midterm elections, as well as the integrity of our political system by closing off illicit finance and covert political influence from abroad ...
3. Separate politics from efforts to unmask and respond to foreign operations against the U.S. electoral process.
An incumbent government must be able to respond to an attack on our electoral system without being susceptible to accusations of political machinations ... Political parties and candidates running for office should also pledge publicly not to use weaponized information obtained through hacks or other illicit means.
4. Strengthen partnerships with Europe to improve the transatlantic response to this transnational threat.
Through bilateral relationships, cooperation with the EU and at NATO, and coordination between NATO and the EU, the United States and Europe can do a lot together to better defend and deter foreign influence operations ...
5. Make transparency the norm in the tech sector.
6. Build a more constructive public-private partnership to identify and address emerging tech threats.
The tech sector, the Executive Branch, and Congress need to establish a more constructive relationship to share information and prevent emerging technologies from being exploited by foreign adversaries and cyber criminals ...
7. Exhibit caution when reporting on leaked information and using social media accounts as journalism sources.
8. Increase support for local and independent media.
... Philanthropic individuals and foundations should support local journalism, as well as initiatives devoted to countering falsehoods propagated by foreign actors.
Read more: The ASD Policy Blueprint for Countering Authoritarian Interference in Democracies (Alliance for Securing Democracy)
Full report (pdf)