The official who is leading America맥스카지노�s election security effort for all U.S. intelligence agencies vowed in a rare interview that he would resign if asked to manipulate intelligence in order to mislead voters less than a month before the presidential election. Bill Evanina, the Senate-confirmed director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, told the Hearst Television National Investigative Unit, 맥스카지노�If I believed it to be not true or not worth the value, absolutely I would quit that day.맥스카지노� He said he had, so far, not been told by a political appointee or the White House to withhold intelligence or change a finding. Evanina맥스카지노�s boss is Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, a former congressman and staunch defender of President Donald Trump. Democrats and former national security officials have accused Ratcliffe of politicizing intelligence, a traditionally non-partisan domain.Evanina, a CIA and FBI veteran, called himself the 맥스카지노�quarterback맥스카지노� between the intelligence community and other federal agencies on election security, a topic he referred to as the 맥스카지노�most important맥스카지노� since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. Just like two decades ago, a significant, ever-expanding threat is also from abroad, the intelligence agencies have warned, and Evanina revealed a list of countries 맥스카지노� beyond his prior public statements about Russia, China, and Iran interfering in America맥스카지노�s election 맥스카지노� that he says are seeking to influence American voters, including Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Cuba and Turkey. Saudi Arabia and Turkey are U.S. allies, a diplomatic status traditionally meant to strengthen American democracy and security 맥스카지노� not undermine it. During the more than hour-long sit-down interview inside the Kiplinger Research Library at the D.C. History Center, Evanina made a distinction between interference, such as cyber activity and hacks, and influence, which he said 맥스카지노�is the mind of the voter.맥스카지노�맥스카지노�We probably have 30 countries out there wanting to play in the influence game,맥스카지노� Evanina said.Russian 맥스카지노�wants to destroy democracy맥스카지노� Evanina said U.S. intelligence has assessed Russia 맥스카지노�wants to sow discord and wants to destroy democracy,맥스카지노� while China does not seek the same goal. However, 맥스카지노�China needs America long-term to succeed as, I would say, a parasitic entity to be the global leader of the world. They need our economy. They want to influence all aspects of policy, not just germane to the presidential election. So, it맥스카지노�s a little bit different,맥스카지노� he explained.Since its 2016 interference, 맥스카지노�we've seen Russia change its tactics and procedures,맥스카지노� Evanina said. 맥스카지노�The change is that the Russians are no longer using their own mostly proxies and bots and troll farms because they got caught. They're now taking U.S. citizens맥스카지노� information and they are taking and amplifying it.맥스카지노�Presented with a series of tweets from President Trump 맥스카지노� his boss맥스카지노�s boss 맥스카지노� that make false claims about the election and mail-in balloting which could be used in that exact way by a foreign country to sow discord and divisiveness among the American public, Evanina responded: "If they see a reference made by the president of the United States, a prominent U.S. senator, a business person, someone who America looks at as a voice of reason, and they believe it suits their interests, they will amplify that by a thousand to make sure that the most amount of people see it.맥스카지노�READ: full transcript of two interviews with Bill EvaninaVolume three of a bipartisan report from the Republican-controlled Senate Intelligence Committee into election interference released in February made a similar conclusion. It found that statements by elected leaders calling into question the 맥스카지노�validity of an upcoming election맥스카지노� can have 맥스카지노�significant national security and electoral consequences, including limiting the response options of the appropriate authorities.맥스카지노� Top threat to electionIn two interviews this week, including one on the National Mall steps from the U.S. Capitol the same afternoon a congressional hearing on combating misinformation in the election was underway, Evanina sought to stress the importance of public confidence in the election results and he discouraged attempts to undermine it 맥스카지노� not just before Nov. 3, but after Election Day, as well.In fact, he identified loss of confidence in the electoral result as the 맥스카지노�number one맥스카지노� threat to the election.맥스카지노�We look at what the Russians did in Ukraine 2014, changing their election results from the state to the cable news stations. Everything that touches the Internet is vulnerable. And we have to make sure that we are on top of that before we get to Nov. 3rd,맥스카지노� he said.Evanina is offering a final election security briefing to both presidential campaigns and the two major national parties later this month. He says he created the briefings, conducted jointly with several national security agencies, for this election cycle after the confusion during the 2016 campaign and as the threat from abroad evolved over the past four years.About a week ago, Evanina said the intelligence community presented all members of Congress a 맥스카지노�very classified맥스카지노� document on election security 맥스카지노� although not during an all-member, in-person briefing, a practice which DNI Ratcliffe ended in August over stated concerns about intelligence leaks. After the change generated anger from some lawmakers Ratcliffe announced a partial reversal, resuming in-person election security briefings for congressional leaders only.Attempts made to penetrate 2020 campaignsFour years ago today, Wikileaks began releasing thousands of emails from Hillary Clinton맥스카지노�s presidential campaign and Democratic National Committee leaders, a leak the Mueller Report later attributed to the Russian government.According to U.S. intelligence, Russia is trying yet again.Evanina would only confirm that all three countries identified in the NCSC맥스카지노�s public statements 맥스카지노� Russia, China, and Iran 맥스카지노� have made attempts to penetrate the major campaigns and candidates this year, but he would not disclose whether those digital attempts this year were successful 맥스카지노� only that the sheer number of attempts has soared. "The attempt to gain personally identifiable information from candidates, from campaigns and prominent Americans is a big increase from 2016,맥스카지노� Evanina said.Both the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee, Evanina said, have taken the 2020 threat 맥스카지노�very seriously맥스카지노� and have taken 맥스카지노�mitigation aspects that I think are above and beyond that which we expected them to do. I think they맥스카지노�ve listened very well.맥스카지노�Unlike in 2016, when foreign actors made scans of election infrastructure in all 50 states and reportedly penetrated several jurisdictions, Evanina says the same activity has not been detected this year, and he has seen no intelligence that any foreign actor has placed malware on any election infrastructure in 2020. Social media partnerships Evanina said the U.S. intelligence community맥스카지노�s partnership with social media companies 맥스카지노�to protect our democracy맥스카지노� has been 맥스카지노�steadfast맥스카지노� in 2020. When asked how recently an agency has asked a social media company to take down accounts or posts associated with a foreign nation state trying to manipulate election-related content and where social media companies took swift action, Evanina replied, 맥스카지노�last week.맥스카지노� He would not disclose details. At the same time, Evanina did label as 맥스카지노�problematic맥스카지노� for intelligence-gathering efforts the ability on some social media platforms to have encrypted conversations that make it extremely difficult, by design, for anyone to eavesdrop on communications, a years-long debate involving First Amendment and cyber security concerns with no resolution. 맥스카지노�It's no longer spy-versus-spy. These venues are all used by intelligence services around the world to garner influence and recruit,맥스카지노� Evanina said. 맥스카지노�It just shows the vulnerability, as Americans of Western society, that we have.맥스카지노�맥스카지노�Our best part of our society 맥스카지노� democracy 맥스카지노� is a humungous vulnerability.맥스카지노� WATCH: full interview with Bill Evanina, conducted Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2020Mark Albert is the chief national investigative correspondent for the Hearst Television National Investigative Unit, based in Washington D.C. April Chunko, David Postovit, Travis Sherwin, Nina Lee & Kevin Rothstein contributed to this report. Know of election security threats? Have a confidential tip or inside information? Send information and documents to the National Investigative Unit at investigate@hearst.com.WATCH THE HEARST TELEVISION NATIONAL INVESTIGATIVE UNIT'S ONGOING SERIES ON ELECTION SECURITY:-Pt 1: Gaps in Preparedness-Pt 2: White House Response-Pt 3: Voting Vulnerabilities >San Francisco Chronicle (print) version>DIGITAL EXTRA: Kid Hackers-Pt 4: Cyber Combat-Pt 5: Election Security Summit (Day 1; Day 2)-Pt. 6: Troll Hunters-SPECIAL: Election Security 30-minute Special-Pt. 7: Paper Ballots-Pt. 8: Lack of Funds-Pt. 9: Operation Blackout -Pt. 10: Digital Disinformation-Pt. 11: Voting App Hack-Pt. 12: Deleting the Deception-Pt. 13: Spotting the Spin-Pt. 14: 2020 Election Summit-Pt. 15: Election Exposure-Pt. 16: Election Exposure Checkup-Pt. 17: Return to Sender