A possible cyber security breach at the Clinton foundation has the campaign worried that Russian hackers may have struck again
The Clinton Foundation has discovered indications its data systems may have been hacked, according to a Reuters report.
So far no document hacked from the charitable foundation, founded by Bill and Hillary Clinton, has surfaced in public, according to the report. A source told Reuters that the hackers appear to have used “spear phishing” techniques to hack the system, much like the hackers who targeted the Democratic National Committee, the party’s fundraising committee and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.
The techniques involve creating phony emails or websites, which were used to gain access to Clinton Foundation staff emails and the foundation’s system itself, Reuters reported. U.S. security officials told Reuters that Russian intelligence agencies used the same techniques against the Democratic party, suggesting the foundation was also the target of a Russian attack. The Kremlin has denied that allegation.
The attacks have given campaign officials cause to worry that the hackers may have emails or voice messages that could be used to boost Republican allegations that foundation donors were rewarded with access to Clinton when she was secretary of state, Reuters reported. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee held a meeting on Wednesday to discuss cyber security strategy.
However, one of Reuters sources said that the spear phishing technique has been used against several organizations, seeming to indicate that the attacks were more about espionage than an attempt to influence the election. Another U.S. official told Reuters that there was no evidence that the hackers were able to use any of the hacked emails as a gateway into the State Department’s classified email server.
So far no document hacked from the charitable foundation, founded by Bill and Hillary Clinton, has surfaced in public, according to the report. A source told Reuters that the hackers appear to have used “spear phishing” techniques to hack the system, much like the hackers who targeted the Democratic National Committee, the party’s fundraising committee and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.
The techniques involve creating phony emails or websites, which were used to gain access to Clinton Foundation staff emails and the foundation’s system itself, Reuters reported. U.S. security officials told Reuters that Russian intelligence agencies used the same techniques against the Democratic party, suggesting the foundation was also the target of a Russian attack. The Kremlin has denied that allegation.
The attacks have given campaign officials cause to worry that the hackers may have emails or voice messages that could be used to boost Republican allegations that foundation donors were rewarded with access to Clinton when she was secretary of state, Reuters reported. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee held a meeting on Wednesday to discuss cyber security strategy.
However, one of Reuters sources said that the spear phishing technique has been used against several organizations, seeming to indicate that the attacks were more about espionage than an attempt to influence the election. Another U.S. official told Reuters that there was no evidence that the hackers were able to use any of the hacked emails as a gateway into the State Department’s classified email server.
