Russian Hackers Swiped DNC's Opposition Research on Trump

And they eavesdropped on chats, emails for a year
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 14, 2016 12:17 PM CDT
Russian Hackers Swiped DNC's Opposition Research on Trump
Russian government hackers helped themselves to the DNC's opposition research on Donald Trump.   (AP Photo/Jim Cole)

Two groups of Russian government hackers—codenamed Cozy Bear and Fancy Bear—pulled a 21st-century Watergate and hacked the Democratic National Committee, eavesdropping on staffers and stealing a huge amount of it opposition research on Donald Trump, the Washington Post reports. According to NBC News, that could include legal documents, tax documents, footage of Trump's speeches, and more. While anything considered "sensitive" may never have been used by the DNC, the same can't be said of Russia. The hackers appear to have had access to DNC files, emails, and chats for at least a year. “When we discovered the intrusion, we treated this like the serious incident it is," DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz said in a statement, per Reuters. "Our team moved as quickly as possible to kick out the intruders and secure our network.”

Experts say the goal is to understand the strengths, weaknesses, and possible vulnerabilities of future presidents. That's something that's especially important when it comes to Trump, who doesn't have a long political history. “We’re perceived as an adversary of Russia,” a former head of the FBI's cyber division says. “Their job when they wake up every day is to gather intelligence against the policies, practices, and strategies of the US government." Also targeted were the computer networks of Hillary Clinton, Trump, and a number of GOP political action committees. The Russian Embassy denied any knowledge of the cyberattacks. (More Democratic National Committee stories.)

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