Article snippet: Amid President ABC News’ “Powerhouse Politics” podcast. “It is incredibly clear that Russia was trying to interfere in our election,” the Oklahoma Republican said. “There is no question on that, by any means, that Russia was trying to engage -- try to destabilize our democracy.” Although Lankford invoked the oft-repeated Republican line that Russian hacking did not actually change votes, he highlighted the need to “apply pain” to deter the Russians from further cyberattacks. Using an analogy from the Olympics, he elaborated, "When it was clear that the Russians were doping their athletes in Sochi, the U.S. Olympic Committee responded by kicking their athletes out of the 2016 Olympics. They faced a real consequence for that, that was clear and was connected." He continued: "So my issue now is: what is the clear pain that Russia will experience based on their actions? Because I don't think they change the behavior until they actually have experienced some sort of pain." So what would this pain look like in the context of international cybersecurity policy? Lankford explained that it would have two components. The first, he said, is continued sanctions against Russia, and notably, a sanctions package recently passed the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly, 98-2. The second component is a “cyber doctrine,” he said. “It's something we worked with the Obama administration for years on,” Lankford said. “To have a clear policy that can be put out, that if an... Link to the full article to read more