Obama attributes 2016 election interference to Russia DHS designates elections as critical

The Obama administration publicly attributes the hacking of the Democratic National Committee and John Podesta's emails to Russian intelligence services, stating the operation was intended to interfere with the 2016 presidential election. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson designates election infrastructure as "critical infrastructure" under the National Infrastructure Protection Plan, a classification that enables federal cybersecurity assistance to states. The designation is controversial. Several Republican secretaries of state object to federal involvement in state election administration.