‘The Disruption of Fact’: How the Kremlin Leverages Disorder

By Steven L. Hall

Steven L. Hall retired from the Central Intelligence Agency in 2015 after 30 years of running and managing intelligence operations in Eurasia and Latin America.  Mr. Hall served as a member of the Senior Intelligence Service, the small cadre of officers who are the senior-most leaders of the CIA's Clandestine Service.  Most of Mr. Hall's career was spent abroad, overseeing intelligence operations in the countries of the former Soviet Union and the former Warsaw Pact.

There is no “quick and easy fix” for the United States to deal with Russian disinformation and influence operations. Steve Hall, a former senior CIA officer who retired in 2015 and spent much of his career overseeing intelligence operations in the countries of the former Soviet Union and the former Warsaw Pact, says it is critical to break this national security threat into two categories — cyber protection and combatting disinformation. The Cipher Brief’s Mackenzie Weinger spoke with Hall about Russia’s long history of active measures operations and what the U.S. can learn from Europe as it devises plans to counter the threat.

The Cipher Brief: I wanted to get your thoughts on what new tactics are out there, general policy suggestions, and any lessons the U.S. can learn from European countries that have dealt with this more substantially. What’s on the horizon?

“The Cipher Brief has become the most popular outlet for former intelligence officers; no media outlet is even a close second to The Cipher Brief in terms of the number of articles published by formers.” —Sept. 2018, Studies in Intelligence, Vol. 62

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