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Don’t use computers for political points

Cyber security is a critical issue demanding a bipartisan approach, Republicans and Democrats alike agree.

Or at least, they say they do.

But now, in relation to one of the biggest cyber security threats in the world, the issue has become politicized. That needs to end.

At issue is whether Russian government hackers somehow attempted to influence the U.S. presidential election in November.

Some Democrats claim Moscow did just that, helping Republican Donald Trump win the election. Some GOP leaders question that, insisting Democrats are seeing electronic hobgoblins where they do not exist and using them to make excuses for losing in November.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., rejects politics in favor of realism on the issue.

Yes, McConnell agrees, the question of Russian intervention ought to be investigated. “The Russians are not our friends,” he commented this week.

No, they are not. No realistic assessment of our cyber security can ignore the threat from Moscow.

At the same time, politics cannot be permitted to focus cyber security concerns solely on Russia. Hackers from other countries, notably China, are at least as great a threat.

The safety and reliability of U.S. computers and networks is a primary national security worry. Attempting to use it to score political points is foolish and irresponsible — and plays right into the hands of hackers in several countries.

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