Which is it? The lead commentary in the Insight section in the Dec. 20 Telegram, “Russian hackers are winning the cyberwar” (Page D1), features a photo illustration of an evil-looking Vladimir Putin at a computer (with a bear in a Red Army hat lurking behind him), and the author, Bloomberg Opinion columnist Timothy L. O’Brien, writes that hackers “reportedly tied to the Kremlin” have planted massive malware on U.S. government computers. But the caption to the photo on the jump page informs us that “we should avoid unfounded finger-pointing.”
A Bloomberg Opinion columnist doesn’t support his conclusion that Moscow planted malware on U.S. government computers, a reader says. Patrick Semansky/Associated Press
The commentary contains no evidence of who is behind the hacks, while conceding “the government has been largely mum.” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said it is “pretty clearly” the Russians; President Trump said maybe China did it.
Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity has been monitoring these issues since the unfounded charges of Russian hacking of the Democratic National Committee server in 2016. Their Dec. 20 post at ConsortiumNews.com is an open letter to President-elect Joe Biden, urging him not to be “suckered” by charges that have not been proven.
Beware of confirmation bias!
Susan Welsh
Portland
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