The U.S. Cyber Command thwarted attacks from a notorious Russian troll on Election Day in 2018 and for several days after, according to a report published by The Washington Post Tuesday.

The report said the U.S. military hackers staged an attack against the Saint Petersburg-based Internet Research Agency, an outfit accused of numerous propaganda campaigns, including during the 2016 presidential election.

U.S. officials reportedly first sent direct messages to people working with the IRA warning it not to meddle in elections. When it came to the day of the election, Russian agents were taken offline and even complained to administrators that they could not access the internet. “Part of our objective is to throw a little curve ball, inject a little friction, sow confusion,” an anonymous official source told The Post.

The agents were prevented from getting back online during the count for the vote to prevent them from sowing seeds of confusion relating to the truthfulness of that count. This reportedly went on for days.

Intelligence officials said that there are vulnerabilities they can exploit to thwart attacks and leave agents without connectivity, but sooner or later those vulnerabilities can be patched. Such aggressive action was never expected to last more than a few days.

Speaking to the New York Times, Joseph R. Holstead, deputy director of Cyber Command public affairs, said the department did not “discuss classified cyberspace planning and operations.” But he added: “U.S. Cyber Command will continue to work as part of the whole-of-government effort to defend our elections and democratic institutions from foreign malign influence.”

Last year, the Cyber Command was given a higher status and asked to be more proactive rather than take the defensive role it had previously taken. Prior to that, the IRA was accused of not just meddling in elections but using various tech platforms to drum up division in the U.S. on myriad social issues.

Photo: Shannon McGee/Flickr