Foreign ministers of the Group of 7 (G7) countries are voicing concerns about cyber interference in the democratic process, after their meeting in Italy on Tuesday. A declaration issued by the foreign ministers of the United States, Britain, and other member states on responsible behavior in cyber space all but singles out Russia for using cyber intrusions to meddle in democratic elections. “We are increasingly concerned about cyber-enabled interference in democratic political processes,” the declaration published on Tuesday states. The declaration says that international law and the United Nations Charter applies to the use of communications and information technology, and that states that fall victim to malicious cyber activities are under international law allowed to take “proportionate countermeasures.”
The document also calls on other countries to offer their views publicly on how existing international law applies to cyber space.
The U.S. intelligence community said in January with high confidence that the Russian government sought to interfere in the 2016 presidential election to undermine U.S. democracy and damage the candidacy of Democratic Hillary Clinton.
Russia has denied the allegations.
The FBI is currently investigating the influence campaign, including any links or coordination between associates of President Trump’s campaign and Moscow. There have also been suspicions that Russia will attempt to influence elections in Germany and France.
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