THE United States (U.S.) presidential election has brought to the fore the clear and present threat to cybersecurity. While Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican candidate Donald Trump are trading words about Russia and President Vladimir Putin’s alleged role in the U.S. elections and leaked emails, at the core is the issue of cybersecurity and its impact on relations and security, domestic and foreign.

According to whatis.techtarget.com cybersecurity is “the body of technologies, processes and practices designed to protect networks, computers, programs and data from attack, damage or unauthorized access.” U.S Government and several security agencies have accused Russia of hacking the email accounts of the Democratic National Committee and that of Chairman of the Hillary Clinton Campaign, John Podesta, a charge which Russia has denied. The infiltration has not only caused friction within the camps of candidates Clinton and Bernie Sanders, but has led to the resignation of the party’s Chairman, Debbie Wassermann Schultz, based on what was contained in some emails.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is enjoying asylum in Ecuador, living in its London Embassy, has, within past days, been releasing emails from Podesta’s account, allowing insight into candidate Clinton; which her camp, though downplaying, is also concerned about the leaks and its potential to influence the election outcome. It is being learnt that through quiet pressure from the U.S., Ecuador has blocked Assange from using the Internet, hence halting the release.

Last year, the U.S faced international backlash and condemnation from some of its most trusted allies in Europe as a result of information leaked without authorisation in 2013 by Edward Snowden, computer professional, former employee of the Central Intelligence Agency, and contractor for the U.S National State Agency. The information leaked was to the effect that the U.S was spying on its allies. According to Snowden, his reason for leaking the information was that he could not [in good conscience] “allow the U.S. Government to destroy privacy, Internet freedom, and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they’re secretly building.” He has since been charged by the U.S for espionage, and is residing in Russia, where he has been given temporary asylum since 2013.

It is said that what can be seen as a threat to one is empowerment for another. And though there is some merit in this cliché, especially when it comes to governments who engage in unbecoming practices and withhold non-classified information from the people, there must be mechanisms put in place to prevent attacks that can undermine a country’s operations and its security. In the presence of continuous leaks, the Chicago Tribune, in its editorial of 19th October, said the post-Snowden reforms have fallen short, and has posited that: “At a time when Russia has dramatically stepped up its hacking activities and other countries and groups pose similar cyberthreats, this country needs to feel confident that its own cybercapabilities and top secret data remain exactly that — top secret.”

In Wednesday’s presidential debate, Mrs. Clinton bluntly said Russia is engaged in espionage to influence the outcome of the election, because Putin prefers a puppet (a reference to Trump) than a leader (a reference to her). This is a serious charge, and is bound to create concern not only in the U.S, but further afield; and moreso among its allies.

And what is most instructive in these breaches are the players involved, giving rise to speculation whether they are operating independently, cooperatively, or have a common interest in influencing U.S’ politics — and by extension the world’s — in another direction. It should be said that with claim made that Russia is involved in espionage, it recalls an eerie sense of the Cold War era, when developing countries were called upon to take a side in support of either the West or East. In the meantime, our Government is encouraged to pay heed to these developments and moving parts, and the importance of tightening our security, not only with an eye to domestic interest, but also foreign, where the potential realignment of politics exists, given what is taking place in the Middle East, clear repositioning of Putin, and strained US/Russia relations.