NSA chief says Trump has not given him the authority to counter Russian cyberattacks and that it's 'going to continue'

Kirill Kudryavtsev/Pool Photo via AP

Russian President Vladimir Putin makes a toast during an award ceremony in the Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia, December 28, 2017.

• US Cyber Command chief and National Security Agency director Adm. Mike Rogers said Russia's known cyberattacks have not been adequately addressed.
• Rogers said he had not been given authority by President Donald Trump to counter Russia's cyber operations.
• Rogers also said he believed Russia's operations will continue if "we don't change the dynamic."

The head of the US's cyber operations on Tuesday said the country's response to Russia's hacking provocations have "not changed the calculus or the behavior" and that "they have not paid a price."

Speaking before lawmakers on Tuesday, US Cyber Command chief and National Security Agency Director Adm. Mike Rogers said that he had not been given the authority by President Donald Trump to to counter Russia's cyber operations.

"I believe that President Putin is clearly come to the conclusion there's little price to play here," Rogers said. "And that therefore, 'I can continue this activity.'"

"Everything both as a director of NSA and what I see at the Cyber Command side, leads me to believe that if we don't change the dynamic here, this is going to continue," Rogers said. "And 2016 won't be viewed as something isolated. This is something will be sustained over time."

The US intelligence community has concluded that Russia meddled in the 2016 US presidential election through a complicated media and hacking campaign. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also believed that Russia has already launched a campaign to meddle with the US's midterm elections in 2018.

Russia has also been a prime suspect in the hacking hundreds of computers that were used by authorities from the 2018 Winter Olympics, according to US intelligence sources cited in a Washington Post report.

"There are tools available to us, and again, I think in fairness, you can't say nothing's been done," Rogers said. "But my point would be it hasn't been enough. Clearly what we've done hasn't been enough."

A recent SSRS poll indicates most Americans believe the Trump administration is not doing enough to prevent foreign meddling in elections, according to CNN. Around 60% of respondents in the poll say they are not confident Trump is doing enough to stop countries from influencing US elections.