Dem proposes center dedicated to fighting Russian hacks

Rep. Joseph Kennedy (D-Mass.) introduced legislation on Thursday to create a response center to combat Russian cyber attacks amid ongoing probes into Moscow’s interference in last year’s election.

Dubbed the National Russian Threat Response Center, the new initiative would be responsible for examining information relevant to Russia’s online aggression and seek to close gaps in intelligence collected about the Kremlin.

“Russia’s attack on our election was not guided by party affiliation but instead by a deep desire to weaken trust in our institutions and shake the very foundation of our democracy,” Kennedy said in a statement.

{mosads}The idea resembles the National Counterterrorism Center and would fall under the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Representatives from the CIA, in addition to the Departments of Defense, Treasury, Homeland Security, State and Justice, would be part of the center.

“Without a strong, coordinated response from our government, adversarial assaults on our electoral system, economy and national security will only become more sophisticated and sustained in the coming years,” Kennedy said.

“By uniting our agencies and our allies against this common threat, our Response Center will ensure our government is ready and willing to respond to any future meddling before it takes root.”

The proposal for the center comes after a recent report that Russian hackers targeted 39 states in their attack on the U.S. electoral system.

The legislation also comes as Congress and the FBI conduct investigations into Russia’s 2016 hacking, and any possible coordination with the Trump campaign.

The intelligence community in a declassified report concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin called for an influence campaign aimed at helping then-Republican nominee Donald Trump win the White House.