Deutsche Welle follows up reports of a spearphishing campaign against German political organizations with more expert assessment that the compromise was probably accomplished on behalf of Russian intelligence services. The Frankfurter Allgemeine quotes Thomas Rid as discerning "forensic evidence" that the hacks were linked to last year's intrusion into Bundestag networks. Many compare the incident to discovery in the US that Fancy Bear and Cozy Bear had the Democratic National Committee's emails. The German incidents disclose no obvious ideological angle, as both the center-right CDU/CSU and the Moscow-aligned Left Party were affected, but there's either a deeper game or an unselective collector's passion at work here.
Legislation introduced yesterday into the US House seeks to address election security, but observers are skeptical that a critical infrastructure designation will have much effect. The proposed bill would significantly Federalize US elections, and, while mandating certain security measures (air-gaps and paper backups) it appears aimed significantly at preventing purges of ostensibly ineligible voters from the rolls.
Russian intelligence services are undergoing a reorganization. President Putin has announced the impending unification of the SVR (foreign intelligence) and FSB (security) into a Ministry of State Security.
Investigation of last weekend's bombings around New York suggests to many observers that the "lone wolf" metaphor is inapt: the suspect shows signs of conscious connection to ISIS inspiration. A lone wolf is an aberration, since wolves are pack animals—if the wolves are within earshot of the howling, they're still in the pack, no matter how physically dispersed.