Senator Says Russian Hacking Shows Need for Encyrption

With signs increasingly pointing to Russian involvement in computer hacks including the email of Hillary Clinton Campaign Chairman John Podesta and state election offices around the country, Oregon Senator Ron Wyden says the United States needs to strengthen encryption efforts not weaken them.

Wyden, who is a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, spoke with Patch on Friday about Russian hacks, Donald Trump, and why the rest of the country should look to Oregon as a model when it comes to voting,

"When you have problems that include Russian hacking and Wikileaks, the antidote is stronger encyption," Wyden told Patch.

He says that a proposal put forth by Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina to give law enforcement greater access to encrypted devices "would be a terrible mistake.

"It would jeopardize the safety of information that people are increasingly keeping on their phone," he says. "We need to do more to protect people's privacy."

Wyden tells Patch that the United States intelligence community has made it "increasingly clear that the Russian government has been behind this series of political hacks."

That has Wyden mystified about why Donald Trump continues to paint Russian President Vladimir Putin in a positive light.

"Why he insists on taking about Putin in a sympathetic way is beyond me," Wyden says. "He does not have America's interests at heart."

Wyden says the Russian hacking into state election offices around the United States demonstrates why more states need to follow in the footsteps of Oregon.

"Oregon's vote by mail system should be the model for the rest of the country," he says. "The way we do it locks in a paper trail."